30 Days of Nothing the Changed the World
by bishop2420
Summary: The Class is called seduction and for at least two generations it has added nothing to the quality of the Ninja in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Now due to the early promotion of a prude, Mitarashi Anko is the new instructor.
1. Seduction

… **Ninja Academy, Konohagakure no Sato**

It was the last day of class and Naruto held a blushing Hyuga Hinata in his lap. Her back was to him and her legs were spread. From their position at the back of the tiered class room, anyone who turned around would see her tiny, black and orange panties under the short dark skirt she was wearing. They would also see Naruto's fingers rubbing her thigh and creeping toward her barely covered center.

Hinata's hands covered her face as her entire body was covered in a blush, but no one could deny how aroused she was. Her braless chest was only covered by a tight shirt and despite the fact that the shirt was lined with chainmail, her hard nipples were still very obvious on her heaving, large E cup breasts. For those sitting close enough to the couple, a light scent of her arousal could also be detected in the air around her. Hyuga Hinata had merged her sexuality, her shyness and her shame completely.

Next to the couple, sat Haruna Sakura. Currently she was looking away from the couple with what appeared to be a scowl on her face. If anyone looked closer they would notice that a small but definite smirk tugged at her lips as well. If they looked even closer they would see that her small B cup breasts were also topped with hard aroused nipples and that her hips were making very small motions in an attempt to stimulate her own desperate core.

It was no secret in the class that Sakura was a monster. She was loud and would react to any slight with violence. That was until Naruto tamed her. She would still rebel against him and the school and village had been witnessed to brutal fights between the two that always ended with her docile at his feet. She shifted in her seat and her smirk shifted to a smile for a moment as she felt the burn of her bruised ass where Naruto had spanked her viciously that morning. She was also enduring the pain of a clamp on her clit that was both causing her massive pain and soaking the absorbent panties she had been allowed to wear.

Despite the treatment of the two girls in the class, something else was known. The two girls were by far the deadliest two students in the whole class. Moreso than even the more skilled Uzumaki Naruto. Even the clans feared them and the Hyuga clan especially was terrified of the clan heir they had once treated so poorly. They knew she would have her revenge and waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop had actually caused the death of one of the clan elders from a fear induced heart attack.

The cause. One month where nothing happened and the entire world changed.

 **...Beginning of the Academy Year.**

Yuhi Kurenai was a Chunin instructor at the academy. She taught one class and only to students in their last year. That class was seduction. Most people either did not remember or chose not to comment, but when the village was founded, seduction class was a very important class for both male and female future ninja. It of course taught about sex and how to use sexuality as a weapon.

Many a future ninja even lost their virginity in the class, but the class also taught psychology. First was self-control so that seduction techniques would not work on them, then came being able to read underneath the underneath of the people they interacted with. Was the client acting the dominant while truly being a submissive? Acting strong, when truly being insecure? These skills were what the seduction class was meant for.

Then came Utatane Koharu. She did not lose her virginity in the seduction class, nor did she lose her virginity to her first love, Sarutobi Hiruzen. The story of the many sexual and relationship disappointments in her life would make for a very sad book, but the true tragedy was that it made her a bitter woman who focused her bitterness on the seduction class. That bitterness became shrouded in a hatred for perversion and perverts and then, as a Chunin, she was allowed to teach the class.

What followed was generation after generation of shinobi from the Koharu school of seduction. It taught that all perverts were horrid and that sexual attraction should not exist until after a marriage approved by one's family. Yuhi Kurenai was the teachings greatest disciple. Despite all evidence to the contrary, as proven by her own best friend Mitarashi Anko, Kurenai was convinced that pervert-ness was a unique and ingrained flaw of all men and that none could be trusted not to rape at the earliest and first chance.

She remained a virgin but her teaching, or lack their off, led many of her female students to being unprepared for the dangerous life they entered and themselves raped. Instead of encouraging her to change her teaching, it only verified in her own mind that her distrust of men was right.

Then she was made a Jōnin.

If she had been made a Jonin one month later, it would have been too late for her to be made a Jonin instructor to a genin team. She would have spent the year as an instructor at the Academy for the greatest accumulation of clan heirs ever found in one graduating class, plus the jinchūriki of the most powerful of the tailed beasts.

That class would include a young heiress that the instructor had taken a personal interest in and she would have been even more conservative in her teaching, not even wanting to expose the supposed future kunoichi to even a discussion about sex as she could not see her as anything but a princess to be protected from all the worlds evils.

Fortunately for all involved she was promoted in time to get herself a genin team. That team would fail her genin test but by that time, a new seduction teacher would be assigned and Yuhi Kurenai would be forced to go back to taking missions. She would eventually face the consequences of her beliefs, but that is a future story.

The person who was chosen to be the new seduction instructor was a Tokubetsu Jonin named Mitarashi Anko. Anko was definitely not from the Koharu school. In fact, she was taught about sex by one of the legendary Sannin, the Densetsu no Sannin. Orochimaru. Despite turning out to be one of the villages greatest traitors, he was, like his teammate Jiraiya, a super pervert. But he was also a snake and nothing describes a true seduction expert better than "a perverted snake", Ero Hebi.


	2. First Class

… **Seduction Class, Konahagakure Shinobi Academy, Day 1**

Mitarashi Anko was very excited. The opportunity she had just been given was something that she never thought would happen, much less have her at the forefront. The fight between the "perverts" and the "prudes" had been going on for years and she really didn't know how it started. What she did know was that the "prudes" had a lock on the Academy that had made it hard for the "perverts" to tip the balance.

It wasn't particularly hard to convert someone to the perverted side, especially with her body, but the "prude's" control of the academy had been a pain and because of it, the village was actually pretty balanced between both sides. But now Kami had seen fit to give the perverts the upper hand. And Anko believed the change had been blessed by Kami. Why else would she have been given the opportunity? Only Jiraiya of the Sannin was more perverted than her.

Converting a "prude" to a "pervert" only required time and commitment to wearing little clothing. Something not always feasible in their line of work. Converting a "pervert" to a "prude" was practically impossible so if she could use the seduction class to produce a generation of perverts, then there was likely no going back.

With her goal in mind she had proved her mastery of the skill she wanted to teach to get the job. As a bonus, she was pleasantly surprised by the skillfulness of the Hokage's fingers as well as his taste and stamina. She had not known that he was in the "pervert" category but while she was on her knees behind his desk "convincing" him to give her the job, she noticed a little orange book that was almost like a badge of membership.

He was older, but she was definitely going to go back to him and maybe send a couple friends his way. His skill in the sexual arts as well as his eager participation made that a guarantee. When she left, she made sure to tell his secretary that he was more available than previously thought and based on the look the woman had given her, she was pretty sure all access would soon go through the sexy woman.

She had used her body to get the job but that did not mean that she did not take the assignment seriously. She hated her old sensei but he had made her into a scholar in the ninja arts, especially seduction. She had expanded on his teaching and developed a course of study that would leave her students prepared, skilled and most importantly sane. She smiled as she saw the group of future shinobi walk in to her newly claimed classroom.

She shook her head. It was obvious by the way they each moved that they had all been given very good training in combat, but it was also clear by the arrogant look on the Uchiha, the timid look on the Hyuga and all the rest that none of them were mentally prepared to be true shinobi of the leaf. Her job was to teach seduction, but more than that it was to teach them how to detach certain emotions from certain actions. A shinobi, in the course of their duties, didn't have sex with love or kill with hate unless they actively chose to and that was what she would teach them.

Her first class was going to be what she called the Shinobi Birds and Bees or the Shuriken and the Kunai. She was still working on the title. In many ways, she was going to be seducing her class over the year and she had planned this first lesson the way she would the first meeting of a seduction mission. Her face was relaxed and open, inviting everyone to see her as someone they would hope to confide in one day. That was aided by her hair which was up in a ponytail that conveyed friendliness. She was dressed in sexy, but appropriate clothing; showing only hints of the swell of her breasts with tight pants that hugged her ass and thighs but still looked practical for a ninja to be wearing.

All the boys instantly had crushes on her, and by keeping her bearing straight and composed, the girls quickly saw her as an example of what a kunoichi should be. The opportunity to solidify all of this was gift wrapped to her when a blonde that had to be the Yamanaka heir and a pink haired girl that was probably a civilian got into a tussle over who would sit next to the brooding Uchiha.

The piece of chalk she threw hit the blonde in her breast, then deflected to the pink haired girl's forehead before hitting a light fixture and landing back in Anko's hand. It took skill to make sure the chalk went slow enough for the students to be able to track and not break but fast enough to make it back to her hand. She plastered a semi disgusted look on her face that any woman (or girl) would recognize coming from another woman and was pleased to see both girls recoil in shame and both take seats away from the boy.

A hyperactive blonde that she knew was the container of the Kyuubi, looked at her in awe and said "cool" and got an agreeing nod from most of the rest of the class. Pleased that she had proven her "bonafides" and that she had the complete attention of the class, it was time for "the talk". She positioned herself, purposefully, at the edge of the desk, shifting her body to "accidently" reveal a bit more cleavage and then started.

She used clinical terms, mostly. To make sure everyone was on the same page she spoke clearly about the mechanics of sex, touching on procreation, but focusing on pleasure and desire and that the class would be about turning the desire for pleasure into a weapon. She could tell by some of the blushes and surprised looks that she had explained something new to some and filled in gaps for others. Everyone, though seemed to learn something.

The most important part of the class, to her, was making it very clear that it was a weapon that could be used against both genders. It was easy to convince the class that men could be "controlled" by their sexual desires as the "prudes" pushed that belief, but she worked hard to explain that girls had the same desires but were actively taught to repress it. And that because of it, women were sometimes easier to control if one had the skill to manipulate and exploit it.

The last thing she did was sit at her desk with her legs crossed, oozing a level a sexuality that none of the students were ready to deal with but was so mild as to be practically innocent. She called each student up to her desk to stand in front of her and told them to look at her. She made them stare at her feet and run their eyes up her legs and thighs, look at the swell of her breasts and then look her in the eyes. Her voice was like molten eroticism as she directed them and subtly moved her body in concert with her words.

She held their gazes for about 30 seconds before allowing them to take their seat. Three students fainted. A civilian, the Hyuga heiress and the Inuzuka heir. Then she dismissed class 15 minutes early, to allow the flustered students to have time to get themselves together before their next class. She was sure some would be visiting the restroom to "clear the pipes."


	3. Shatterpoint

… **Hokage's Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

It went without saying that the first seduction lesson was the talk of the Academy. When the students got home and told their parents, it became the talk of the village. Shinobi old enough to remember the class they had, started to recall the importance of it and were happy that someone had noticed the problem even if they hadn't and moved to fix it.

Shinobi, villagers and especially parents that had been raised under the "prude" system were not happy. Especially the parents who were also clan heads and who did not get this version of seduction class. Complaints were made and it would have been the end of Anko-sensei's brief stint at teaching, if not for her "hint" to the Hokage's secretary.

She had not done it as part of her plan to reform the seduction classes. In truth, she had completely underestimated how rooted in the culture the prude way had become in Konaha and without aid had completely failed at her mission. Luckily for her she had signaled to that secretary, and even more lucky that the secretary had held a long held desire for the Sandaime Hokage.

The woman had been disgusted that the powerful man she had yearned for had seemed to have lost his "will of fire". When "the snake whore" had hinted that he was more virile than she had thought, punctuated by a self-satisfied rubbing at the corner of her lip, Hiroshima Yuyu, had decided to take a stand. She had left most of her clothes, including her panties in her bag beneath her desk and entered his office in only her kimono and declared her intention.

She did not want a weak man that she could control and in between giving her body to him in the most depraved and pleasurable ways imaginable, she had slowly relit his will of fire. Goading him not only with his sexual prowess which was impressive but with her disappointment that he could be so powerful sexually and so weak in the face of the council and his advisors. Anko would have given her full marks in her seduction class.

In the one month since Anko's visit, Yuyu had become not only the secretary of the most powerful man in Konaha, but his very willing and very satisfied mistress. Loving access to her body and her open desire for him had caused the man to once again become the Shinobi no Kami. Up until the complaints about Anko's class, the change had not been obvious to most people.

Minor governmental offices, on the other hand, were discovering the change as some paper work had started to come back, delivered by ANBU, and making it clear that wasting the Hokage's time would start to have very real consequences. A few arrogant officials had tested the Hokage's renewed will and had vanished for three to four days before returning…humbled.

In addition, the ANBU force itself had gotten a wakeup call when the Hokage had started to join them in their training. Since he had not actively trained in some years and the ANBU were supposed to be the elite of the village, the Sandaime had been livid at his ability to even keep up with them. Four ANBU had been summarily dismissed. Unbeknownst to the angry village head, those four had been compromised by the civilian council and Shimura Danzō with the express purpose of undermining the Hokage and the ANBU forces.

When Koharu showed up planning to use her influence as a former shinobi team member of Hiruzen as well as the guilt he still felt at not returning her feelings, to convince him to get rid of the "Snake Whore", she was surprised to find a man that reminded her, uncomfortably, of the one she had lusted after all those years ago. He exuded not just power, but charm and wisdom and it caused her to falter a moment before she was able to confront him. When she got herself back under control, she made her demand and was surprised that she was denied almost immediately.

Yuyu was not just very good at sex and carnality, but she was also a very capable executive assistant and she had taken the opportunity to gain more responsibility in the Hokage's office. Acting as a buffer had reduced the Hokage's paperwork even more than the ANBU he had sent to the governmental departments. She also made sure he was briefed daily on the issues that most likely would be pressing for the day. The fact that those briefings came while she was naked and pressed against his desk, recovering, just added to her personal job satisfaction.

So, Hiruzen was quite prepared for the complaints he was receiving as well as being briefed on Anko's lesson plans and reasoning. He had received the proper seduction training as a youth, Yuyu was benefitting from it, and agreed that he didn't know why it had changed so much but was happy it was returning. Hiruzen's keen intellect was able to see that Anko's plans would be even more beneficial than the lessons he had received. He was very impressed by her.

Koharu tried everything to convince Hiruzen to change his mind. Unfortunately, age had done nothing to improve her dismal seduction and influence skills and so she was doomed to failure. When her pleading turned to anger, she made a mistake. Hiruzen typically felt honor bound in his dealings with his former teammates but his renewed will of fire and the gorgeous woman that was reawakening his feelings of manhood would not allow him to be spoken to as Koharu was.

She froze when she felt the killing intent (KI). Fear and shock wared within her as the man before her had never directed his KI at her. "You will watch your tone when speaking to me. I have loved you as sister for more years than many in this village have been alive, but I will not allow you to disrespect me or this office." He did not yell, but his words lashed out with power. With a respect she had only ever truly shown the Nidaime Hokage, Senju Tobirama, she said "Hai, Hokage-sama".

A shell-shocked advisor left the office shortly after with her original goal not met and fearful about what was happening with the man she thought she knew. The last thing she saw before the door closed was a highly aroused Hiroshima Yuyu lowering herself to her knees between Hiruzen's legs and she had her answer. She had remained unaware of her former teammate's love of the ichi ichi paradise series and that he was a pervert but there was no hiding the perverse look on his face or on the "slut secretary's". She stormed out of the Hokage tower in an impotent fury.

… **Seduction Classroom, Konahagakure Ninja Academy, Day 2**

Unaware of the uproar happening in the village, the students entered their seduction class for day two to meet their equally unaware teacher. She was standing when they entered and was wearing an infiltration suit without any gear. The suit was designed for infiltration and assassination missions. With the gear attached, she would look so dangerous that most people would be too terrified to give a second look, but with her face and head uncovered, devoid of any straps or pouches, and in the bright lights of the class room, the students saw a very well developed and gorgeous woman in a skin tight outfit that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.

Ignoring the stunned looks of her students as they entered she directed them to take their seats. "Boys on the right, girls on the left" she instructed. In a daze, the students did as they were told. The boys especially seemed to be bouncing between looking over her entire form and looking away in fear that the very dangerous kunoichi may take offense and murder them.

When they were all seated she walked up the cleared center of the room, putting a subtle seductive sway to her hips that called all the students' attention to herself. All of the boys and many of the girls worked hard to not drool over her. When she announced that she wanted the boys to look at her and admire her and that at the end of the term she would do it again except completely naked and expect them to not lose themselves, Kiba, who normally acted very brave around girls, whimpered.

"Yesterday, I told you that sexual desire was the same in boys and girls. Many of you listened to me but I know you continue to have doubts. I know that despite their behavior, every girl knows I spoke the truth but have been taught to suppress it for fear of being seen as weird, or even fear of sending a signal to a boy that is not intended and being attacked." She said while continuing to glide through the room.

"By the time you are true shinobi, fear of attack by a random civilian will not be a problem and the unfortunate truth is that there is no behavior that will stop an enemy from raping you if you are captured." Her words sobered up the room from their ogling of her. Even the boys felt dread seep into them at the thought of one of their female classmates being violated. Most of the boys. One arrogant student cared little for anyone but himself.

Then Sarutobi Asuma entered the room. It was not an exaggeration to say that the man was very attractive. Many of the girls had crushes on Uchiha Sasuke, but that was because they were young and he was pretty enough to be relatable. Asuma was a man. But despite his dangerous aura and ruggedness he was also very beautiful. Smooth skin and light inviting eyes, he was a perfect heartthrob type and Anko knew he had used his good looks, charm and wealth to get into many a girl's bed. She had even tried him out herself. She smiled at how favorably he compared to his own father.

The girls in the class, who had been a bit perturbed at the attention Anko's fully developed womanly body had taken from all the boys, where now openly drooling themselves. Asuma was wearing the same infiltration and assassination uniform, except it was cut for a man and the obvious bulge between his legs seemed to draw all eyes.

Until he unzipped the top of the one piece out fit and pulled it off his arms allowing to hang at his waist and displaying his bare, muscled chest to the room. "Hello class" he said in a rich baritone that instantly cut the number of Sasuke's fangirls in half as they all switched allegiances instantly. Asuma had done a tour as one of the Fire Daimyo's personal guard and was ripped and in his prime.

The boys would have been jealous if Anko had not pulled down her own zipper to tease her breasts. She waited a few minutes for the initial flustering to die down before she addressed the boys side of the class. "I want you to compare your own reactions to me to how the girls are acting. I know you have been taught that when a girl blushes or becomes flustered it must be because of any other reason than they are attracted to you." She said as she had the boy's attention.

She continued "Because of this teaching you find yourself confused by the girls because what your instincts are telling you is happening do not match up with what you have been taught. But look at them. The same naughty thoughts you are having about me, the same fear of being caught, of being rejected, of being punished, are the same thoughts they are having." The boys' eyes drifted quickly to the girls before returning the expanse of flesh she was showing off. But many did recognize the same looks of lust and desire that they were feeling.

Then she turned to Kiba. "Kiba, do you want to touch my breasts?" She asked. He looked at her in fear. He did, but he wasn't supposed to admit something like that. "It's OK, Kiba," Anko said "I promise you won't get in trouble with me for the truth." He stuttered out a "Y..Yes" and all the boys looked at him as if he had lost his mind. He seemed to be shocked at his own answer.

Then Anko walked up to Kiba and instead of hitting him she took his hand and put it on the inside of her zipper. She let him squeeze her breasts as he looked on in wonder and joy. Then it ended and she waited as everyone stared at Kiba's hand, including the Inuzuka and, funnily, his puppy.

Anko knew they would not stop staring if she left them so after giving them a moment, she said "Ino. Do you want to touch Asama's chest?" Yamanaka Ino was the boldest girl in the class. She had built a reputation for her "coolness" and "sophistication" but that had all been relative. Being proud that her breast had developed early and not being afraid to wear tighter than normal clothes was a far leap from running her hand over the muscled chest of the Hokage's son.

But she had enough pride to overcome her lack of confidence and she got up and moved to the man. She swooned at the masculine scent that surrounded him but held it together long enough to rub his chest. "It's like rubbing stone with a soft layer of moss over it" she thought as her body reacted and she blushed. Asuma took her hand and kissed her fingers before he let her return to her seat. When she did the girls in the class were now staring at her hand. And Sasuke had lost half of his most adamant fan girl pair.

Anko let the class dwell a bit before she once again moved on. "Most people think this class is about seducing people and having sex. But it is actually about mental strength. More important than whether you can get someone to sleep with you is if you can resist the advances of someone who wants to seduce you. We will get to seduction but first we will make sure you can resist it."

Then she did something that would be branded in the brains of her students for the rest of their lives. She made each of them stand in the center of the class and do the basic academy Taijutsu kata while either her or Asuma seduced them. It was interesting to note, and she pointed it out, that because boys are raised with the fear of offending a woman by staring at them lustfully, they were actually better at the exercise.

No one's form survived the seduction, but while the boys blushed and shook a little, many of the girls fainted or tripped over their feet and fell on the floor. Hinata was actually resisting the mini seduction the best till Naruto, of all people, yelled encouragement at her and she fainted dead away. The blonde boy was pretty dense but after the day's lesson, Anko was able to see when he figured out what her behavior over the last couple years probably meant.

Before he could get too caught up in his discovery, Anko called him to be next. As usual, she let him start his kata before she began to impose herself on him. She frowned at how bad his form was. It made no sense. He was moving with complete focus and determination but his positioning was all wrong. She had read his file as she had with all the students and it had said that he was a slacker. Being a slacker explained the bad form but not the concentration and precision in which he did them wrong. Nor the fact that he did them wrong in the exact same way every time. She had a suspicion but that was for later.

He surprised her as he naturally did something that she intended to teach at a later date. Instead of working to ignore her as much as possible, he just accepted that she was around him and sexy as hell. If her body came into view he didn't hesitate in his movements and simply smiled at what he was seeing. When she whispered naughty things to him he just smiled in appreciation and kept going. It wasn't till she used his discovery Hinata's obvious crush against him. When she asked if he thought she played with herself while thinking of him, he shivered and messed up his terrible footwork.

She had been discrete in her last attack and so saved him some public embarrassment though she could hear Akimichi Chōji ask him what she said to him in the end and he just blushed and remained quiet. With that she thanked Asuma for his help with a passionate kiss and public promise to share a bath with him. For a moment, the class was shocked at her before the days lessons helped most of them pull their minds under control, even when she proved it wasn't just a test for them and rubbed the man's crotch.

Once again, she dismissed the class early, so they could get themselves and their hormones under control before their next class. Before he could leave, she held Naruto back. If what she suspected was true, she needed to find out quickly so there was time to correct it as much as possible. No one had much respect for Naruto, but after the first two lessons, the class had bonded a bit because of the experience and everyone looked on a little worriedly at leaving him with the "crazy" sensei.

When it was only her and Naruto, she began by asking him about the class. It was an opportunity to hear what the class experience was like from a student's perspective. "I don't know, Anko-sensei" he replied and she could tell it was painful for him to admit. "I have wanted to be a shinobi forever and to be the greatest Hokage ever. This class is starting to make me realize that it's not just 'saving the princess' and killing the 'bad guy' with awesome jutsus. Jiji had been trying to tell me that but it didn't hit me till this class."

She nodded. That was good. He assured her he still wanted to be a ninja and would still be Hokage and she smiled at his resiliency. Then she got to the real reason she kept him back. She ended up staying with him the rest of the school day, having to send Umino Iruka away when he came looking for his missing student. When Naruto finally left he felt as if he had taken a more stringent graduation exam, he was closer to the truth than he knew.

… **General Ninja Studies Classroom, Konahagakure Ninja Academy**

The main sensei for the graduating Ninja Academy class was completing his daily paperwork and preparing for the next day's class when Mitarashi Anko knocked on his door. He gestured for her to enter with a wave and smiled at her expecting to hear what prank or trouble Naruto had caused that required her to keep him. Knowing the woman's reputation, he was sure his favorite student had learned not to mess with the "Snake Mistress" again.

His smile died when he got a good look at her. Iruka could have been a Jonin if he chose. But, he felt the academy was his calling. Despite that, he had not forsaken his training as some of the other teachers had. So, with his senses screaming at him, he prepared himself for a fight. His first thought was that Anko had faked her sincerity to get close to Naruto and hurt him but part of why he stayed late was to make sure he saw Naruto leave the school grounds. The boy had been "detained" before and he was not going to let it happen again.

With Naruto truly gone, his sensing ability verifying it, he watched the woman with dangerous eyes sit across from him. Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. "I am trying to figure out if you are one of the people who hate him and want to see him hurt or killed. Or if you are just incompetent." He looked at her with a combination of confusion and anger. He had no idea what she was talking about but he was not going to be talked down to by someone who has only been teaching a day.

Before he could voice it, she through a very familiar file down in front of him. His anger blead off because of his confusion. "I am going to assume based on your face that the answer is incompetence." She kept talking with a sharper more agitated voice before he could defend himself. "His taijutsu has been sabotaged. You were 'too busy' to notice but despite his stances being completely wrong, he does them the same way every time and with full focus and determination. Nothing about what he does suggests laziness or a lack of commitment."

Iruka's eyes widened but before he could speak she continued "The same is true for his shurikenjutsu, except it is actually worse. Not only has he been taught the wrong footwork and throwing techniques but his shuriken and kunai have all been purposefully dulled and unbalanced." Iruka's eyes had gotten harder and harder as she spoke. The stain on his honor (as head sensei) was something he would deal with later but he knew the people responsible for those classes and they were going to learn why he could have been a Jonin whenever he wished.

"But none of that is why I call you incompetent" Anko said to the man who she was no longer sure she would be able to fight based on the hidden power he had let slip from his control. But she was committed. "I want you to ask yourself three questions, Ninjutsu-Sensei. Why do we teach the academy three ninjutsu when they are so simple? What are the **two** requirements for getting a jutsu to work? And finally, what are the Uzumaki famous for?"

Iruka was angry but still confused. He was indeed the primary ninjutsu instructor but he had given Naruto all the help he could. More, in fact. He knew the boy did not do the chakra control exercises he had tried to teach him. "The academy three jutsu are taught because students have small chakra reserves and little control and with moderate control the academy three techniques can be mastered. The two requirements for a jutsu are chakra control and chakra reserve and the Uzumaki Clan was famous for having…ridiculously…large…chakra…reserves."

Iruka almost drowned in shame and self-recrimination right then. He had been fighting for years to bring the Uzumaki Clan history back into the curriculum and he had allowed himself to be the biggest victim of the lack of knowledge. In truth, he had no reason to know that Uzumaki Naruto was a true Uzumaki, it was the habit of orphanages for a while to give orphans the names of famous persons, before it was stopped when they tried to name an orphan Uchiha. But that was no excuse, all the evidence was there and he had over-looked it by falling into the trap he had admonished others not to, in regard to Naruto.

"I truly have failed" he said sadly. Then he took a deep breath and looked into Anko's eyes. She had to fight not to shift under the intensity of his gaze. Naruto had told her that he had learned to be strong from "Iruka-sensei" but until that moment she did not understand. She saw the same resilience that had so impressed her in the young student, magnified and her jaw dropped when the man started to speak.

"It is my failure, but I am afraid Naruto will continue to pay the price for it. We have one year to get him up to standard and I will take him every day after class and correct each of his deficiencies. We will report your findings to the Hokage and if he allows me to fix my mistake and work to fix my honor, I will dedicate myself to making Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage come true."

Anko watched in amazement as the man stood and asked her to wait there. He vanished in a shunshin and 20 minutes later returned with a bruised and bloody man. Anko recognized Mizuki, the man who was supposed to have taught Naruto taijutsu and shurikenjutsu. Anko could see he was not dead but could also see that he had been disabled in the most painful way possible. Anko wondered if the Chunin instructor was trying to seduce her because, if he was, he was doing a good job.


	4. Who Are You

… **Seduction Classroom, Konohagakure Shinobi Academy, Day 115**

Naruto Uzumaki sat in the class of his favorite teacher. She did not surpass Iruka-sensei in his mind because of the discovery that his academy instruction had been sabotaged or because Iruka-sensei had missed it. The man had apologized profusely and was meeting with him after school every day to get him up to speed.

Iruka-sensei had even convinced the Hokage to allow Naruto to learn the greatest jutsu ever. The Shadow clone jutsu not only gave him a clone jutsu he could use to pass the academy but it also allowed him to increase his training exponentially. As he sat in the Seduction class, he had 250 clones in the training grounds working to refine his repaired Taijutsu and learn the Uzumaki Taijutsu form.

That was the other reason Iruka-sensei had, in his mind, made up for any and all wrongs he might have ever committed against him. With his own inadequacy pointed out to him, the man had taken the Hokage to task about the many secrets that were being kept from him. Naruto had not been there to witness it but Anko-sensei had told him that Iruka-sensei had dismantled every reason the "old man" had come up with to keep him in the dark.

At the time Iruka was only trying to get the Hokage to tell Naruto about the Kyuubi, but once all of his arguments had been shown to be flawed the Sandaime had called Naruto into his office and along with Anko and Iruka, had not only told him about the Kyuubi no Kitsune but also told him that he was an Uzumaki through his mother Uzumaki Kushina. That Naruto was not only an Uzumaki but the son of "that Uzumaki" had floored both sensei. When Naruto admitted he did not know of her, Anko and Iruka looked at each other.

The shocks did not end there as the Hokage had revealed that the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato was his father. Naruto was a very quick study and despite only having two classes with Mitarashi Anko at that point, he had already had a few realizations about himself, his life and his goal, through her first two classes. And so, he was angry. He did not let his anger consume him but he made it very clear that he felt betrayed by the man he considered his grandfather.

He had not called the man anything but Hokage-sama since and Yuyu found herself comforting the man as much as she "relieved" his pressure. Naruto had promised to keep it secret something he insisted the Hokage should have trusted him to do before as keeping his promises was his nindo, his shinobi way. Yuyu had promised the older man that he would have a chance to repair his relationship with the boy but it would take time and actions, as words would no longer be trusted.

It would be over the next few weeks that Naruto would learn what the look between Anko and Iruka was about. The two defied the civilian council and taught the entire history of Konahagakure, including the history and shame of the village's relationship to the Uzumaki Clan. It turned out that the Uzumaki Clan had fulfilled a promise to aid Konaha when attacked during the second shinobi war. After Konaha had been saved it was learned that Uzushiogakure was under attack as well and the leaders of Konaha hesitated because of the recent attack and the belief that there would be no time to reach Uzu in time.

It was later learned that Uzu was holding off the invaders but slowly losing and that was when Konaha finally sent help, but by the time they arrived it was too late. The shame of not immediately fulfilling its promise was why the symbol on the Konaha Chunin vests was the Uzumaki swirl in red. It represented the blood that Konaha still carried on its very soul.

Then came the revised lesson on the third shinobi war where the true heroes were given their due. Instead of focusing on which clans participated, individuals that distinguished themselves got credit for what they did. Names like Uchiha Obito, Uzumaki Kushina and of course "The Yellow Flash" Namikaze Minato along with many others representing the many clan and civilian shinobi of the leaf were given their proper positions of honor in the next generation.

As promised the secret of who his father was remained that way but word that Uzumaki Kushina, the Red Death had a son and that the village had systematically abused him for 16 years spread like wild fire. When word that most of the civilian council had known that fact already and had been trying to suppress both that knowledge and what the "last Uzumaki" had done for the village, it finally broke the power the council had gathered to itself after the Kyuubi attack.

…Flashback

Stung from the rejection of the boy he truly considered an honorary grandson, and burning with a renewed will of fire, the members of the civilian council found a Hokage that was not willing to bend in the name of peace. When a councilman and wealthy business owner threatened to take his business to another village, the other councilors were stunned when the Hokage had accepted his secession. They were more stunned when the Hokage offered to buy all the councilor's property as he could not take land and buildings with him.

It was not until the Hokage cruelly told the man that no shinobi in Konaha would accept any mission from him to guard him as he moved, nor would he allow any other shinobi village to move through the land of fire unmolested to take such a mission, that realization finally hit. In addition, the Hokage stated that should the man change his mind, Konaha would take no mission for him for one year. All the councilor's faces paled at this. Moving through fire country on one's own was not a problem, but carrying a fortune without the protection of shinobi was suicide.

It was made clear that this man would be allowed to leave but he either had to leave with almost none of his fortune or accept death by bandits at some point. It went without saying that should the man leave; his entire empire would be confiscated. Unsure what to do with this situation, the man eventually sat down quietly. He would stay and his business would survive but a year without shinobi willing to take contracts would cut his business and wealth in half and a severe lesson would be learned.

…End Flashback

Naruto's musings ended when the door to the classroom opened. Anko-sensei walked in dressed like a prostitute. That was not to say her outfit was so tawdry, it reminded him of a prostitute. She was dressed like a prostitute from the red light district. She had been dressed this way for a week and it was like a midterm.

This was why she was his favorite teacher. He was a boy, she was gorgeous and she regularly enflamed his lust in all the best ways while teaching him to not be overwhelmed by it. She told them that the first third of the class would be about them not succumbing to seduction and for the last week she and her "friends" had been throwing bodies at them left and right, in and out of school.

Naruto and all his classmates had faced every type of approach. Sexy, innocent, pornographic. Ino had even reported that Asuma had gotten permission from her father to masturbate in front of her. She admitted it was one of the great experiences of her life and that she would touch herself thinking about it. It was a testament to their training that Ino announcing that she was playing with herself caused great interest with the boys but absolutely no blushes.

Anko announced that while her direct lessons about self-control and not allowing oneself to be seduced would continue, it was time for the next part of the curriculum. Knowing oneself and merging that self with your sexuality. "As you all know, I was raised and trained by Orochimaru." She started. She had told the class about the traitor Sannin and what her life was like in the village because of that connection. They hadn't been pleased with their parents after that day.

"I was his favorite because the truth is, I am a sadist." She lectured. "I like giving pain. I like having people afraid when they are in my presence. My training with snakes has helped me develop the ability to taste the fear and pain that others feel. I am every bit the bitch many people think I am." She looked to each student as she spoke and saw some of the hard-earned self-control slip at this new phase of lessons.

"That does not mean I have no heart or am uncaring. And it still does not mean I deserve to be treated the way some in the village have treated me. That is what this next phase is going to be. Learning who you are, accepting that person, and demanding that person be afforded all the respect they are due despite anyone's personal opinion about who that person is or should be." Once again, she had the classes full attention.

"As far as seduction, the last thing to know about me is that I have merged my sadism with my sexuality. There are people that want a sadist in their life. There are missions for which my type of sexuality makes the perfect tool of seduction. I can tell you that there is at least one person in this room that is especially terrified of the type of person I am because the type of person that they really are calls for it. I can taste their fear of me and at the same time taste how completely aroused they are by it."

Her words sent a shiver through the class but it also helped them understand what she meant. There was no one size fits all seductress. While the main part of the class had been on learning how to not be seduced, they had been learning about psychology as well. This portion of the class would not only teach them what kind of seductions they would be best at but it would also help them discover what would work best against them and further help them prepare to battle it.

Hinata both loved and hated the seduction class. Anko-sensei had discovered her secret almost immediately. No man besides Uzumaki Naruto had any hope in seducing her. With the Byakugan, the Hyuga Clan had long come to terms with their perversions. The only rule being that it be kept secret from all outside the clan. Hinata knew that her perversion was like her mother's. She wanted to be dominated. And she had already chosen her master.

Anko did not know, at least she didn't think she did. She had believed that only Naruto could seduce her. What Anko helped her realize was that Naruto was the only male that could seduce her. She had been taken in by many of Anko's traps and had been taken down to just her panties during one memorable seduction and it was only when Naruto was mentioned that she was able to regain control of herself. It was the most exhilarating and embarrassing day of her life.

She had since learned to not be taken so easily. Anko had not instructed her in this way, but she had conquered being seduced by sinking deeper into her devotion to Naruto. It was dangerous but as long as she acknowledged Naruto as her master, at least to herself, no one could seduce her as her master had not allowed it.

Naruto had also changed. He did not know he was already her master, but he knew she liked him and he had been encouraged, likely by Anko, to explore the connection. They were not exactly dating but he was slowly taking more and more control of her without knowing it. They had gone out to eat and in another great moment in her life he had kissed her but it was still casual and she wondered if he was being instructed to keep it that way for now as the Naruto she had committed herself to would not know how to be so subtle.

She had grown a lot in almost four months but she was still very shy. She was not scared and was toward the top of the class in all subjects, tying with Sakura for first ranked kunoichi. But everything still embarrassed her and she was shy and introverted. As Anko described what the next phase would be she was pretty sure she already had herself figured out. At first, she had wondered if Anko was describing her but Anko's description sounded more like a masochist.

Her cousin, Neji, was one so she knew that was not her. She was a pure submissive. It didn't take a genius to see the advantage of a skilled kunoichi that accepted her submissive nature, tied it directly to her sexuality and went out on a seduction mission. Adding Naruto as her master, in her mind, actually caused her to experience a small orgasm.

If she had to guess. The hidden masochist was Sakura.


	5. You Are Mine

… **Seduction Classroom, Konohagakure Shinobi Academy, Day 210**

Haruno Sakura was not doing well in the seduction class. She was not failing it from an academic standpoint but she was not coping well with what she was learning. She had successfully passed the first phase but that was because she responded to all attempts to seduce her with violence. Even when Anko-sensei had henged into Sasuke she had responded in violence despite finally having the attention of the boy she had lusted after for so long.

By the end of the phase she found herself in a completely unfamiliar position. She was at war with her inner self. The voice had given her advice before that she had ignored without issue but know it seemed like her mind was in a state of constant turmoil. Outwardly it turned her from an annoying girl that would scream on occasion to a raging bitch that everyone avoided like the plague.

The only thing that her and her inner self could agree on was that they should focus their frustration on one boy. Uzumaki Naruto. A week after the beginning of the term, something had happened to Naruto. It started with him stopping his constant attempts to ask her out. She knew that she had no interest in him but still found herself angered that he would "abandon" her.

Her anger was only increased by the fact that he had switched his focus to Hinata. She had considered attacking Hinata but even in her growing insanity she knew that her status as the daughter of a civilian council member did not trump Hinata's position as clan heir to the most prestigious and honored clan in the village. So, she turned that anger back on Naruto as well.

Then he stopped letting her hit him. He did nothing in retaliation to her random and unprovoked attacks and instead would just move out of the way of her strikes until she tired herself out, which was pretty fast since she was intelligent, had great chakra control but had absolutely no stamina. That only added to her anger and made her even more impossible to be around.

What she, and most of the class, did not know was that despite not even being a genin yet, Uzumaki Naruto already had Chunin level strength and skill and would probably be Jōnin level by the time he graduated. If he continued at his current pace he would probably be an S-class shinobi by the time of his first Chunin exams and be Kage level not long after. And that is without the use of the Kyuubi's chakra.

Iruka had been serious about regaining his honor in regard to the boy and had called in every favor he ever had and Naruto was receiving almost round the clock training via his clones. In the 7 months since the beginning of classes, Naruto had received almost 26 years of continuous training. Every morning he would create 100 clones, which would split his chakra equally across the group.

25 would work with various trusted shinobi on his martial skills like taijutsu and bukijutsu (weapon use), 25 would work on chakra manipulation, including perfecting his hand seals and increasing his speed, 25 would work on jutsus, he had a wind affinity and that section of the shinobi library was made available to him. Iruka cashed in his biggest favor, more of a debt of honor to have 35 wind jutsu scrolls stolen from Sunagakure in wind country. The final 25 were dedicated to fixing the gaps in Naruto's education. Reading, writing and mathematics at the start but expanded to include psychology and tactics.

With his chakra split all 101 versions of Naruto would also be made to practice chakra control almost constantly with the leaf sticking exercise, maintaining a leaf on their forehead at all times. At the end of the 12 hour day, first one, then two more, then four more and so on, the clones would disperse and as his massive chakra reserve would refill he would have to maintain the leaf. He failed to keep the leaf stuck on him the entre time for the first 5 months, that was how large his reserves were and how much control he needed.

Finally, his physical strength growth was the responsibility of the real him as a clone could not build muscle strength. He wore gravity seals all the time and would have an additional four hours of purely physical training after every day in the academy. All this happens under the noses of the entire village. With Umino Iruka as the mastermind. And the person most affected by all the secret training Naruto was undergoing, besides him, was Haruno Sakura.

The second phase of the seduction class was actually a redesigned torture technique that forced a person to see their true selves. For traitors, it was usually a devastating realization to see that beneath all the excuses, they were just being greedy or selfish. For the seduction class it served the dual purpose of making them more resistant to torture and discovering who they really were.

That part had been completed and Anko-sensei had them meditating most days on themselves while she had one and one sessions with each student to discuss it and help them come to terms with who they were. Hinata was a submissive, Ino was a control freak, Kiba was feral, etc. Sakura, of course, did not know about any other student, as they did not know about her.

In her session with Anko-sensei, she was just left frustrated. She had told her sensei that she felt at war with herself and the only thing the woman had told her was to keep following her path. It was not helpful and just fed her anger and frustration. Then she noticed that Hinata was wearing a collar. While everyone's "true self" was supposed to be kept a secret, it was obvious what Hinata was.

Sakura believed that Hinata was the girl Anko-sensei had talked about at the beginning of the phase and seeing Hinata with a collar…with and Uzumaki swirl pendant. She snapped. She charged at Naruto with a scream. She would not miss this time. She swung at his face and he dodged. Normally he would wait for her next attack and dodge that and keep dodging till she tired herself out but this time…he slapped her…hard.

Sakuro was on the floor, her cheek burning red from where Naruto had struck her. She looked up at him in shock. She didn't notice that the second voice had gone quiet. She flinched at his face as it was full of fury. She looked around for help and saw that all the students were equally stunned and Anko-sensei was just smirking at her. Before she could process that, she was grabbed by Naruto and dragged to his seat. Her fear kept her unbalanced and spiked when the boy she thought would always take her abuse kicked the desk away from the chair. The whole room jumped at the sound of the impact.

He sat down and pulled her across his lap and that is when her inner voice started to scream. "No, don't let him!" Sakura agreed completely and started to struggle but that only helped him as he lifted her red skirt and pulled of her panties. He inner voice started to panic at this and so did she and then the first strike. She had been training for almost her whole life to be a kunoichi. She had been in fights, and even knocked unconscious. But nothing hurt more than Naruto's bare hand across her ass.

The pain of her spanking was matched by the hurt of his words as he called her an insolent bitch that needed to know her place. She bawled but her struggles calmed until finally she felt…peace, for the first time in a long time. She found herself answering with "yes sir" and "no sir" as he asked her questions and told her that she would behave better. With her mind calm she noticed that she was full exposed to her class but did not care.

Then her arousal started and before long each slap to her ass felt like it was tied directly to her most sensitive spots and she was climbing to an orgasm. When it hit she moved from the one most struggling with this phase of study, to having it completed. She knew who she was and she had tied her sexuality to it and found her master.

Her truly brilliant mind figured out that she was the masochist and that she was a tsundere as well. She knew that Naruto was now her master and realized her anger was because he would not take her as he was currently. She also knew that she would become difficult again, but trusted he would know to force her submission again.

Naruto proved his taming of her by forcing her to go around the room apologizing for her bitchiness. She was not allowed to pull her dress down and exposed herself to each of her class mates as she walked around. Shame, anger and arousal warred in her mind as she suffered the incredulous looks of each of her classmates, especially "Ino pig". But she had been tamed and then commanded and her inner voice insisted that she had been beaten so she must obey. It was actually very refreshing and freeing for her.

… **Seduction Classroom, Konohagakure Shinobi Academy, Day 232**

Phase three was about to begin and Naruto was quite pleased with his life. Anko-sensei had forced him to face his own feelings about how the Village had treated him. He had tried to maintain the lie that he was a happy kid, determined to "earn" the villages respect, but Anko had pushed and pushed until he had finally cracked. He had actually attacked her with all his buried anger and when he felt that anger becoming power and slipping from his control, she had been able to calm him down.

He still wasn't sure how she did it, but he was sure that her stripping naked and presenting herself to him was an important factor. Her naked body had easily snapped him from his anger. With his anger released she had talked to him until the second damn broke and he bawled his eyes out. Then she had held him while he cried.

She had spent two months with him every night, sleeping in his, bed and giving him the comfort he had been desperate for. She had walked him through his feelings, teaching him about self-control and how to manage his anger. She taught him how to forgive, but not forget and that it was his right to expect justice for the wrongs committed against him.

Iruka had joined in the conversations, though not the night-time comforting. It was odd to have Iruka explain to him that he should not simply forgive his sensei. That the debt of honor Iruka was paying off to him through his training was important for both of them because nothing worth anything should come for free and Iruka valued Naruto's trust and friendship, so he should be made to earn it back.

At the beginning of her last week with him, Anko-sensei had taken his virginity. It was one of the best nights of his life. She was like a sister to him but it went without saying that sisterly love was not handled in normal ways by Mitarashi Anko. The last week solidified their bond as Anko took the time to teach him how to be a good lover in a much more hands on way than his seduction class would receive.

Even now, as he sat in the class at the beginning of the final phase of not only his favorite class but his entire time as an academy student, he was still not completely over the trauma of the way he had been raised. He had no doubt that facing that trauma had influenced his true self. He was no longer willing to relinquish control. His determination and will had already been like iron and now that was directed toward and absolute refusal to be under the thumb of anyone or anything.

He had come to terms with this and merged it with his sexuality and was now best described as a Dom. He had already claimed both Sakura and Hinata as his own. Anko-sensei had figured them both out on day one. Once she discovered that he was a budding Dom, like she was, the Snake mistress had used them as a real world lesson on seduction for him.

Hinata was already a sub and knew it and Anko-sensei had only had to teach him how to be a proper master for her. It was not just about the control, Hinata had a fully developed personality with strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, dreams and ambitions. Becoming her master meant committing to that responsibility as she would relinquish them all to him. So, for Hinata, before he was allowed to claim her, as she clearly wanted, Anko-sensei made him get to know her and date her.

In the world of the shinobi the 6 months he took to date, get to know, fall in love and choose to become her master, was taking it slow. The night he took her virginity had started with a ceremony. At some point they would probably be married in front of her entire clan and a good portion of the village, but the private ceremony they had were she committed to be his slave and he her master would forever be the most treasured memory and representation of their relationship.

With him in control she was able to separate her shyness from her confidence and she became, practically overnight, a walking fantasy for most of the men in the village. Blushing and demure while wearing sexy clothing that accentuated her figure. She walked sexily and carried herself with a quiet confidence that radiated an aura of sexuality and deviance. All the while maintaining a parallel aura of innocence.

A month later he had claimed Sakura. She was just as submissive as Hinata, but where Hinata wanted a strong caring protector who could lead her and give her the confidence to do what was needed, Sakura demanded to be taken. She was a masochist but more than that she was like a wild stallion that would fight until broken. And she would not stop fighting forcing her future master to "reclaim" her over and over. She had appealed to Naruto on an instinctual level and he had taken great satisfaction in riling her up before spanking her bare ass in the middle of class.

He looked around the room. His new skills allowed him to easily see that while the entire class may graduate, only nine of them had any real potential at being shinobi. Anko-sensei's influence on the class and the greater academy had already cut his class down from 27 to 18. An attrition rate that had not been seen for many years and was more in keeping with the pre-waring states era.

The nine that he thought had a chance were Sakura, Hinata and himself along with Yamanaka Ino who was also a dom. She was like Anko-sensei, which was not a surprise as her father was Anko-sensei's boss in the torture and interrogation department. He was sure that the sex would be wild between them as it had become between Anko and himself and he shuddered to think of the pleasure and pain they would experience if all three of them got together.

Ino had adapted her personality and became a true mistress. She wore tight leather pants with a matching tube top that accentuated her large DD cup breasts. She carried a cat-o-nine tails on her hip and had adopted a style and mannerism similar to a cat. He noticed that she had arrived at class that day with what look like small metal claws on each of her fingers. When she caught his eye, the tips glowed showing they were made of chakra metal.

Nara Shikamaru was the next of the high potentials he noticed. The best way to describe his type was "fixer upper". He had expected his lazy nature to put off Anko-sensei but instead she had helped him discover how to maximize his lazy personality and high intelligence. He would be deceptive in his seductions. Appealing to the type of woman who would see great potential in his intelligence and seek to fix him. In truth, many of the women that married into the Nara clan were already this type of woman.

Anko-sensei had taught him how to control those relationships though. Unlike the other men in his family, no woman would be hitting him with a frying pan. His laziness was no longer annoying but was now charming. He still lazed about in positions designed for comfort but now it caused many a civilian girl to blush when seeing him in the park rather than shake her head. His own mother had found herself blushing at the unassuming confidence her son now projected.

Inuzuka Kiba was another dom, like himself and Ino. But instead of being suave, like Naruto, Kiba was dangerous. Everything about the boy now said danger. Even his ninken companion had shifted from cute puppy to scary guard dog. Kiba's style would be used to seduce merchant wives and similar who wanted to walk on the wild side. Wanted to not feel safe.

If not for the fact that Naruto knew him and knew that he had a tight control on his ferocity he would consider him a real danger to women. They were friends and the boy had told him that Anko-sensei had told him that his seduction method would be dangerously close to rape and so it was important that he became an expert on being able to read women and their desires. He would be playing with dangerous buttons that could get himself and the mission in trouble if he wasn't careful. It was a sobering conversation for the both of them.

Akimichi Chōji was big. He was round and could easily be mistaken for fat. That wasn't true as shinobi training had made him almost all muscle. He did have a thicker than normal layer of fat over it though. That along with a deceptively sweet personality made him the "Teddy Bear". He wasn't a sub like Hinata but definitely was not a dom. He wasn't a push over but he was a bit of a people pleaser.

It was a surprise to everyone when he and Ino started dating. Apparently, she had thought she was successful using her dom personality against him until she went too far and he had put her down hard. After what was reported to be a vicious fight, they had ended up having dinner and now were a couple. They had found a civilian girl to share and who Ino could use before the girl was comforted by Chōji.

Aburame Shino was the most like him. He was a dom but more than that he was a master looking for slaves. He would not think of it that way as he was looking for a relationship that mirrored the kikaichū bugs that he hosted. He was looking for a "queen" to lead the harem he was planning to build. She would have to be a switch as she would be a sub for him but a dom for the rest of his "hive".

Shino was also bisexual. His "queen" had to be a girl but that was not the case for the rest of the "hive". He had made an interesting case study and with his permission the class had discussed not only his personal discovery and his sexuality but also what type of seduction missions he would inevitably get.

Anko-sensei explained that Shino would probably not be doing infiltration to assassinate or gather a specific piece of info, but would rather run a long-term spy ring with the people that made up his hive. Shino was well known for his stoicism, and it had been interesting to see him be a bit more reactive as Anko talked about sex with an Aburame and that they could make their cocks vibrate.

Shino had also had a dramatic change to his physical appearance by the end of phase 2 of the class. He still wore the dark glasses but had replaced the high collared jacket with a half-face mask (like Kakashi's) and a turtle-neck shirt. He still maintained his stoic nature but it had become more mysterious than creepy. To his and the clan's surprise, a group of girls and boys (once his bisexuality was learned) had started a fan club for him, even though his tighter clothes sometimes showed the bugs he held moving beneath his skin.

The final person that Naruto was sure would become a shinobi was the person both he and Anko-sensei thought was the least deserving. Uchiha Sasuke was definitely talented in all the martial skills required for the Shinobi life. He was practically a genius when it came to ninjutsu and had mastered his family's taijutsu style at a young age and developed it into his own deadly variation.

The issue was that he was psychologically broken. Anko-sensei had tried to approach him as she had Naruto but had made no progress. It was clear to her that his anger had completely consumed him and she did not think he was mentally stable enough for work in the shinobi corp. The Hokage had taken back control of the village from the Civilian council and the academy's graduation requirements were under review but it would likely be too late to stop the "ass" from graduating. Iruka had had his eyes opened to the "last loyal Uchiha" and intended to add a note to the file that would be turned over to his Jonin instructor.

He was passing the Seduction class, barely. He could not be seduced with sex and he was smart enough to pretend to not be seduced easily by power, though it was a close thing with Anko working to trip him up. He was a revenge seeking avenger and, as was obvious by the fan girls he had once had, that had a charm all its own. Broody and unavailable attracted certain types.

Naruto was not sure he would pass the final phase though.


	6. I Hate This

… **Seduction Classroom, Konohagakure Shinobi Academy, Day 328**

"I hate this" thought Uchiha Sasuke. It was the last day of the seduction class and the graduation exam would be happening in one week. After today, only Iruka-sensei's class would continue for the final week leading up to the exams. Seduction was also the last class of the day, having been moved to accommodate Anko's final.

The long road of Sasuke's anger and frustration was about to end and he actually felt lost. His pride and arrogance were still present but were now joined with a healthy dose of self-doubt. He was no longer in line for rookie of the year as he had been for his entire previous three years of the academy and it was possible he would not even be in the top five. Not only was he not doing well in the seduction classes but somehow, everyone else had increased their ability in the other subject as well and he had remained stagnant.

He had passed the first phase in the worst way possible. He did not have any self-control, instead his obsession with the loss of his clan and desire for revenge against his brother had proven to be of greater importance to him. The only thing that he had learned was to be wary of people trying to seduce him by offering him power. He wanted power desperately and would do anything to get enough of it to challenge his brother but "that woman" as he called Anko in his mind had shown him that he could be tricked with promises of power that left him with no power and in bad positions.

The second phase had been worse for him than the first. It was this phase where he had to truly adopt a persona that matched what was expected of him. His early life dealing with his father's expectations did more to help him than any of the stupid words "that woman" kept trying to say to him. It had come to a head when she had suggested that he was like his brother.

She made a ridiculous argument that his brother and he were both willing to do whatever it took to gain power but he rejected that notion as his quest for power was to avenge his lost family and Itachi had just wanted power for powers sake. He refused to accept that their motives were not the most important factor.

But he had learned in phase 1 that he must show the instructors what they expect to see so he had weaved a tail of self-discovery. He didn't think she believed him but he had stuck to his story and replaced "avenge" with "seek justice for" in all his language and writing and she could do nothing against him. At least she could not prevent his becoming a shinobi. He was convinced he need only to get from under her control.

As for the sexual discovery, it only added to his disgust with everything that was happening. The Uchiha were a very conservative Clan. The short time that the Last Uchiha had with his family before they were massacred, left the boy just as sexual repressed as they had been. The death of his family, his mother and father, especially, left him with an idealized view of them and the desire to be exactly as he thought they would want him to be.

In the end, Uchiha Sasuke was even more conservative than even his father had been. He did not engage in what he considered the tawdry behavior of commoners. That was impossible to fake, but Anko was not going to force sexual behavior on the unwilling so he had survived the phase. Survival is what he considered it and saw Hyuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura as victims who did not survive. The "creatures" they had become made Mitarashi Anko deserving of death in his eyes. His anger had built slowly and was now at a constant rage because of his inability to do anything about them.

The Hyuga princess was the clan heir of the only clan he considered close to his own and he was disgusted at what she had become. The truth was she was exactly the type of woman he wanted. Obedient and submissive, but the fact that she would allow the world to see that side of her was unacceptable. That she had been the star of some of his uncontrollable dreams had only made him angrier as she had inadvertently succeeded at seducing him a little.

As angry as Hinata made him, what happened to Sakura affected him even more. The truth was that he actually liked Sakura. She was not from a clan but she was politically connected and was the best civilian shinobi candidate in the academy. Her lack of connection to another clan meant he would have been able to absorb her completely into his rebuilding effort. He had planned for her to give him ten children, but that was impossible now. Like Hinata, she was little better than a whore at this point and he could not have a used woman associated with his clan in any way.

His anger flared as he remembered his moment of weakness where he tried to get her to come to her senses. Even though she had been degraded completely he had approached her with promises to avenge her treatment and take her as a concubine or mistress as she could never be his wife. If he had been able to understand the classes he was taking, he would have known that being too nice to a personality like Sakura's would be seen as weakness.

And despite the arrogance behind his attempt, he was still being "sweet" and trying to "save" her and Sakura had no respect for that behavior. She laughed in his face. With all of his fan girls gone, either transferring their affections to one of the other boys or dropped from the program, he found himself without any options. He had secretly enjoyed his ability to constantly reject his admirers but found himself depressed that thy were now missing.

The rest of his Academy life was just as bad. For most of the first phase he was still the number one student but by the middle of the second phase as all the other high skilled students discovered and accepted their true selves, it became harder and harder to beat them in the daily taijutsu matches. He had been livid when Naruto first beat him, but that was nothing compared to the fury he felt when he was beaten by the Nara.

The win loss ratio of the matches became in line with logic. Sasuke had far more wins than losses but he was no longer unbeaten and every one's win loss record became in line with a more reasonable deviation. Naruto had jumped to the head of the class and could have skewed the results back out of sensibility, but he saw no point and believed keeping his skills somewhat hidden made sense. For him being number 1 in the class by 2 points or 20 did not matter in the long run.

Even his clan had been, in his mind, attacked. They had started to receive lessons on "new" clans that had history with Konoha. Uzumaki, Senju, Hitashi and a few more. His complaints about it had been the last time he had been able to go to the council and have them do something. He had been smug at the idea that Anko and Iruka would be dismissed. He was not pleased to learn that what they had said was true and purposely suppressed but he had convinced himself that those clans deserved to be ignored.

He didn't know what happened but Anko and Iruka remained and the curriculum on history continued to expand. After another lesson that featured more Uzumakis than he could stand, he had yelled out "Who cares about a dead clan!" everyone saw Naruto's anger spike, but it was surprisingly Iruka that responded. "It took the combined might of three villages and over 3000 shinobi, including several missing nin mercenaries to take down Uzushigakure and the enemy took over 90% casualties. Every clan can't be so _great_ that it only takes one man, one night to kill them all."

There had been no subtlety in the words, no hidden meanings. It was an open and purposeful slap in the face of the Uchiha clan and its last "loyal" member. The class had been stunned. Sasuke attacked.

It was believed within the Uchiha clan that only an Uchiha could defeat a Uchiha. The entire clan believed it despite the losses the clan took in the Shinobi wars. At the inception of the arrogant belief it was at least tempered with the unspoken acknowledgement that if it was true, it would only be true between shinobi of the same rank. By the time of the massacre, it was believed, and still so by Sasuke, no one could beat an Uchiha. Unfortunately for the boy, not only had he not unlocked his sharingan but he was not even a genin and was attacking a Chunin with Jonin level strength and ability.

Iruka did not indulge Sasuke in the least and took 20 minutes to completely humiliate him. Then an amazing thing happen, Sasuke's near feral rage caused his Sharingan to activate. Sasuke attacked Iruka with renewed vitality. "Surely an Uchiha with an activated Sharingan could not be beat" he thought victoriously. He was wrong. Every shinobi worth his salt had worked out ways to beat an Uchiha and Iruka used the one he developed, and with nothing but taijutsu, beat Sasuke into the ground.

The students would never underestimate their teacher again and even though it was unplanned and not completely professional, Iruka was happy to break the overawe many students had towards the Sharingan. It was powerful and those who had it were dangerous, but it was far from unbeatable. Sasuke didn't return to class for three days in humiliation and didn't speak a word after his return for two months.

… **Ichiraku Ramen Stand, Konohagakure**

"I hate this" said the woman known as the genjutsu mistress. She was speaking to her friend, Inuzuka Hana. The woman was trying to be a good friend but was having a hard time not laughing. Anko had never reacted this way any of the times Kurenai had forced her "prudish" opinions on the group of friends and it was funny to see Kurenai do something she had insisted she would never do if the "situations were reversed"

Kurenai was a highly skilled shinobi and so easily noticed the self-satisfied and accusatory smirk and she knew exactly what it was referring to. She hated it and even though she knew it was deserved she was seeing Hana as less of a friend for not instantly taking her side. She had to actively ignore her own mind calling her a hypocrite due to that feeling.

She was used to ignoring her mind calling her names. Her two closest friends were perverts, by her definition, and she had ignored it because of her insistence that women could not be perverts. The self-delusion was truly impressive since one friend was Mitarashi Anko and the other belonged to a clan that patterned their lives after dogs. Hana regularly referred to herself and other women as "bitches' and openly pined for the day when a man would be strong enough to dominate her and become her alpha.

The woman was also as sexually active as Anko and was known to target weak willed men for sexual gratification. Something Kurenai had actually killed men for doing to weak willed women. Kurenai's distress was also because she blamed herself not being prepared for her own promotion. She had no way of knowing that even had she lined up someone who thought like herself to take over the seduction class, Anko's skilled mouth and the Hokage's appreciation of its ability, had made sure that nothing would have changed over the last year.

If Kurenai had known this she would probably be dead as her refusal to believe women could choose to engage in such behavior would have led her to attack the Hokage. And she would definitely be dead if she had dared to attack the Hokage. The only question in the hypothetical is whether the Hokage would have ended her himself or if one of the ANBU guards would have ended her. [Likely the ANBU as they still feel embarrassed by the state the Hokage had found them in].

Her survival was still in doubt as all the villages Kunoichi had at one time or another over the previous few months, had to prevent her from murdering Uzumaki Naruto. By the time Kurenai learned what "the Demon" had "done" to Hinata and Sakura, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, had taken back control of the village and his opinion about Naruto was made very clear.

After effectively crippling a civilian merchant family, he had declared Uzumaki Naruto to be under his personal protection. The Hokage had showed the extent of his personal Will of Fire and decreed that anyone found to have hurt or attempt to hurt Naruto would not only forfeit their life but the life of all members of their families over the age of 6.

It was not publicized but the disappearance of the Yoshihara family a month later had left the populous absolutely convinced of the Hokage's seriousness. Especially since for those who were willing to participate in quiet scheming against the "demon brat", the two adult Yoshiharas were known and vocal haters.

Their missing 16 year old daughter sent a chill through the civilians of the village. The Shinobi dealt with it better as they better understood the real world but the younger ones, like Kurenai, who did not know the Sarutobi of the second and third shinobi wars, were disquieted by what the great man looked like as an awakened dragon instead of the sleeping one they had become used to.

The Yoshihara family had been a wakeup call for the genjutsu mistress and after that she just sat around in despair about what was happening in the village she loved. Her despair broke long enough to confront Hinata. She truly believed that Hinata was somehow trapped and she hoped to convince the girl that she could be safe away from the boy she was now convinced was the "demon", many in the village believed him to be. It was funny that she didn't think him a demon due to the beast he contained.

The reason for her renewed resolve had been Hinata's new style. All that could be said for Hinata's "daily wear" was that she was fully dressed. Otherwise, the outfit was daring and even those who did not share Kurenai's prudish sensibilities agreed with that. Kurenai fumed at the lustful glares the 16 year old girl received from the perverted men of the village.

Against the sexy Hyuga's skin, Hinata wore a full body stocking. It looked like mesh and was see-through but was made of an open weave, sudo-metalic material that offered protection against both stabs and slices. For people like Kurnai, it was considered an undergarment and should never be seen. Hinata, apparently, did not agree.

Over the body stocking she wore a pair of shorts that looked more like a pair of panties, based on how short and tight they were. It had a loincloth-like strip of material that hung from her waist and attempted to offer her some modesty. Except the strip, that barely reach her thigh, had the Uzumaki clan symbol right over the junction of her legs, and seemed to be an accessory more meant to tease than hide anything.

On top she wore a hooded crop top. It was long sleeved but stopped just below her large E cup breasts. The swell of her breast being on semi-permanent display by the half down zipper. She wore shinobi sandals and fingerless gloves to complete the image of a very sexy future kunoichi. Also, the hood had a hidden half-face mask that Hinata could lift to cover her face when fighting seriously. It allowed her to "turn-off" her shyness when she fought behind a mask.

Hinata was drop dead gorgeous, of that there was no doubt but if Kurenai had been able to look beyond the obviously sexy display she would have noticed that the crop top and shorts were armored, and that the fingerless gloves had metal studs in them. For a fighter like Hinata, with extreme levels of speed and flexibility, that used a precision based fighting style it was a very practical outfit in addition to being sexy.

Her confrontation with Hinata did not go the way she had hoped. Hinata was still shy and easily embarrassed but she was also very intelligent and, with Naruto as master, she had an indominable will. Anko's class had also helped her understand herself and so she was able to explain exactly why she would not be leaving her "Naruto-sama". She did not stutter but she did maintain a spectacular blush as she publicly explained her relationship to the blonde boy.

Kurenai had ignored the explanation and mistaking Hinata's shy submissiveness for weakness had tried to exploit that weakness; in an attempt to save her. It had backfired spectacularly. 32 gentle strikes later, Kurenai was left twitching in the street. That was when she started to truly dislike Anko, because only Anko would teach Hinata to adapt her gentle fist strikes to overload a person with pleasure. Weeks later Kurenai refused to go to the street where she had endured an hour long orgasm.

Hana tried, again, to point out that despite the sexiness and the relationship with Naruto, Hinata was exactly as Kurenai had always told her, and their friends, she hoped Hinata would be. The girl was a submissive but she was also very confident and hadn't been heard to stutter in six months. She was heading to be the top Kunoichi of her class and the second ranked shinobi overall. Being second ranked overall was a milestone for kunoichis by itself, made greater by the fact that the top five of the class would have two of them.

Kurenai became angrier as she listened to her so-called friend twist the knife. She knew she had no logical leg to stand on. The upcoming female shinobis had been turned into scandalous sluts by a fellow woman and it had also generated arguably the most powerful female shinobi graduating class ever. She knew it was wrong and that Anko had sold every kunoichi out to male perverseness but by the time people like Hana would be able to see, it would be too late and Hinata's used and abused body and mind would be discarded somewhere.

Her last hope was to lobby to become the girl's Jonin sensei. She had started to lobby for it and had been very subtle, tamping down any suggestion that her interest was because of anything other than how great the girl's chakra control was and the fact that she had history teaching her. She was the leaf's most skilled, by far, genjutsu specialist and she was arguing that with the level of control that Hinata and Sakura had, she could make them very formidable. Undoing the damage Anko caused was a private secondary goal.

… **Home of Utatane Koharu, Konohagakure**

"I HATE THIS" screamed the village elder to no one. She had survived three shinobi wars, was a supremely skilled shinobi, retired and had almost as much personal political power as the Hokage, but she was currently in her home throwing a tantrum. A dangerous proposition for anyone who might come to check since she was also throwing shuriken and kunai in every direction.

She had always believed that perverts and their ways would be the ruin of society and her home, but even she was surprised at how correct she had been. In the time since "the snake whore" had started her campaign to corrupt the next generation of clan leadership, Koharu had lost half her power, over a decade worth of political work and dealings had been undone and her second great hate, the Kyuubi container, had been allowed to overcome the balance her, and likeminded individuals, had tried to strike with him.

Before her spy network within the Hokage tower had completely unraveled, she had learned that Anko had debased herself to Sarutobi Hiruzen. The report of what she had done to the man was not unexpected nor was its effectiveness. They had been prepared to counter act it as they had been doing for years. Once a man got his jollies, he was much easier to reason with and it was better to let the "slut-of-the-moment" make her attempt and fix it than to delay it and allow the sexual tension to give some "slut" a foothold.

They had not been prepared for Hiroshima Yuyu. Believing that every slut would show themselves by wearing inappropriate clothing or saying inappropriate things they had ignored the snake hidden in the grass. Even now, as Koharu raged, she could not understand where the slutty secretary had come from. The girl had worked for the Sandaime for over a year and been totally professional. Then after Anko left, the woman had just flipped and went back into the office and jumped on the Hokage.

But the damage had only just begun. Before her spies had been ejected, Koharu had discovered, to her detriment, a second fact. Slutty did not mean incompetent. In her mind, a secretary who would sleep with her boss could not be a good secretary. To her, only desperate, ineffective women would ever do such a thing. She was wrong. Hiroshima Yuyu was a brilliant administrator. In a week she had re-lit the Sandaime's "will of fire" both with her body and her effectiveness in his office. By the middle of the second week, Koharu had no spies left. By the end of that week, her power base cracked.

With her power gone, she had no way to stop the Hokage from reclaiming a majority of the power he had from his first stint with "the Hat". He took a personal hand in the ANBU then and had not let go. The ANBU had been made weak for a purpose. The had been protected by Shimura Danzō and his ROOT as back-up but a seemingly weak shinobi cadre had helped make some financial deals with the civilians. As she raged, the ANBU was not only back up to their elite status but their numbers were growing. Jonin who had been purposely kept from the ranks were now completing training.

The same story was true for the Shinobi Academy. Changes made to increase economic prosperity by appeasing the civilians were set to be undone and Konohagakure was heading back to what Koharu considered a "war footing". It culminated when Hiruzen neutered the Civilian Council's perceived power by denying shinobi services to Councilman Oshiro and his business.

The civilian council had tried to draft orders directly to the shinobi to bypass Sarutobi and discovered it was not just the ANBU the Sandaime Hokage had showed his displeasure to. The entire shinobi force had been reminded that all orders originated with him and every order not issued through proper channels should be verified. In the back of her mind she shivered, knowing it was only a matter of time before her hand in the Uchiha incident was discovered.

Then he interfered with the plan for the jinchūriki. They had known the Hokage would be too soft when it came to the boy and had played on his desire for peace and stability to keep him from stopping the plan. The key was to keep the boy weak enough to be easy to control but strong enough to unleash if necessary. Koharu did not even see the child as a human. She did not think he was the Kyuubi re-born but she believed that he was what his title said he was. A sacrifice. Some could not see the container separate from the demon. She just saw him as nothing but a container. And containers weren't supposed to have lives.

But that work had been undone as well. Her spies had been long gone, but Hiruzen had read the report from T&I about Mizuki to the entire council. He had not redacted the interspersed notes about the methods used either. Danzō had tried to save Mizuki for some future purpose Koharu did not know about but they had all been shocked to learn that the man had been executed. They were further shocked to discover 40% of the prisoners being kept had been executed as well.

Many people that her cabal had saved, for one reason or another, had been on the list of executed. And then he had made his announcement about what would happen if someone attacked Uzumaki Naruto. Even with all the changes, she did not believe he would go that far and then the Yoshihara family reminded her that the Yellow Flash might have the highest body count, but second on the list was the "Second God of Shinobi".


	7. Shinobi Now

… **Konohagakure Shinobi Academy**

Anko was very proud of herself. Her seduction class had ended and her program had produced a group that looked more like shinobi, than she remembered ever seeing. All but 3 of her students had lost their virginity during the course of the class and all but 1 had fully integrated their true selves with their sexuality.

Her original goal had just been to teach a true seduction class, introducing genin hopefuls to the real world and maybe add some "members" to the perverted side of the equation. It had ballooned from their and instead she had converted almost the entire class to a freer way of thinking and produced a group that was much more prepared for the harsh realities of shinobi life.

She had decided when putting together her lesson plan that even though the class was called seduction, it was really about taboos. It was about giving her students the tools they needed to face realities that no one wanted to talk about. Sex was the obvious one. But she had tackled the other major taboo subject as well. Killing.

A successful seduction mission usually meant killing and usually in "cold blooded" ways. A shinobi didn't get sent on seduction mission to give targets a "warrior's death". The academy had been giving them the skills. Silent killing, staging, exfiltration, evasion. But it had avoided the reality of the actual kill. She had started to prepare them from phase 2.

But there is no way to truly prepare for it in a classroom. So on the last day of her class she had secretly taken them all to the T&I department and guided each one through their first official kill. It was a somber event and she had thanked each condemned prisoner for their help in making stronger shinobis of the leaf, before directing her student to stab them with a kunai.

Even Sasuke, with all of his arrogance and bravado was affected by it. But she was sure that when they left her that day they were stronger. She was at the Academy with the other remaining instructors to watch the final exams take place. It would be the last year that the exams would be so easy.

She had seen the plans to "fix" the academy, the Hokage had approved. The classes were getting harder and each graduating class would have to do more to graduate until the class that had all 4 years of the new program would take the hardest and permanent graduation test. She really believed that the students that were about to graduate could pass the new version. They had that much potential.

Her own career had taken a turn. Her efforts were controversial, to say the least, and she had probably lost a few friends. She looked over to Kurenai who had not spoken to her in six months and sighed to herself. However, her results had been noticed. Especially by the clan leadership. Many were not pleased with the perversions that their heirs had adopted, but none could deny the Shinobi skill. The worst of the nine most promising was already rated at mid-genin strength and power and more than one had potential to become Kage level.

Because of that the lesson plan she had developed for the seduction class had been expanded. Now she was running the Shinobi Psychology department. It would include seduction, torture, and interrogation classes. All of which were required for graduation. Torture and Interrogation would be 3rd year classes, while seduction would remain a final year class.

… **Naruto's Apartment, Konohagakure**

Naruto opened his eyes. He barely moved but it was enough for the two bodies sharing his bed to adjust themselves and snuggle closer to him. He smiled at the two women who he had grown to care deeply about. In a short time they had become the most precious things in his life.

Over the last year he had finally learned who his parents were, discovered and claimed his inheritance moving him from being the poorest person in Konoha to one of the very wealthiest, learned why so many in the village hated him and treated him poorly, been given the training and attention he had been desperate for and been put on a realistic path toward his dream of becoming Hokage.

A year ago, those things would have represented all the dreams he could even imagine for himself. And after achieving them, he would give them all up for the two girls hugging him. The psychological counseling he had received from Anko-sensei, and later Ibiki-sensei, had helped him realize that most of his dreams had been his way of seeking out what he truly wanted which was love and purpose. And once he understood that and discovered a truer form of those things in his two girlfriends the other dreams carried less weight on his heart.

His relationships with Hinata and Sakura were now his greatest treasure. Hinata had come first. It had only taken one class with Anko-sensei for him to finally understand how to properly understand Hinata's behavior and after the Tokubetsu Jōnin had shown herself to be as supportive of him as Iruka-sensei was, he had gone to her for advice about what to do.

He did not know at the time that Anko was a pervert or that her ultimate goal was to make more perverts but she had made him talk with her about all his feelings and interactions with girls. After hearing and understanding that Hinata had a crush on him, that he had a crush on Sakura and that Sakura seemingly had a crush on Sasuke, Anko had spent a week talking to him about love, sex and relationships. In the end she had gotten him on board with the idea of dating both Hinata and Sakura.

Hinata had been easy. She was already a closet pervert and was quite aware of what she wanted from Naruto. All he had to do was claim her and she was his. Before claiming Hinata, the submissive, he had first courted Hinata, the person. His support and faith in her during that time as well as her own full acceptance of all her parts had made for a passionate night once Naruto claimed her as his. It started with him telling her in detail all of what Anko had taught him sexually and ended with him demonstrating those skills on her body.

Sakura had been harder. Even after he had been forced to see and accept the truth about who the pink haired girl was, he had still liked her. His own self-discovery had shown him that his personality craved the challenge that she represented. Hinata appealed to his caring protective side while Sakura appealed to his controlling demanding side.

Despite their natures, and the fact that they were in a triad relationship, the three of them were in a surprisingly normal relationship. They laughed and talked, held hands and stole kisses from one another. They trained together and pushed each other to be the best they could be. It was just that Hinata deferred to him in everything that she did not have a strong feeling about and once or twice a month, Sakura would challenge his claim on her and force him to beat her in combat. That and the very kinky sex they normally had.

Naruto smiled at the previous night's activities. He was always a dominant but between his two ladies they would switch. The previous night Hinata had been the dominant one over Sakura which he secretly preferred. Not because he loved her more than Sakura, as he loved them equally, but rather because it was always fun to see the normally shy Hyuga princess in that role. He knew Sakura enjoyed it as well.

Finished with his morning reflection, he started to stir. Sexy moans came from his two lovers as he got them up. It was the day of the Academy graduation exams and so, for once, he was not distracted by the display of flesh he got when the sheets slipped from his ladies' bodies. He did pause to admire the hickies and love bites that were on their bodies, before leaving them in the bed to get his shower.

Sakura tried to join him but he denied her, telling her that they could play after they had passed their test. Instead of listening she insisted. Her insistence turned quickly to an argument and would have been a fight except Naruto was not in the mood. So instead Hinata was treated to the sound of Sakura having her bare wet ass spanked and her screams of defiance that turned into whimpers and then the sounds of sexual escapades.

Hinata was in the kitchen making breakfast and smiled. Naruto was their master but that didn't mean that they did not nudge him in the direction they wanted. Sakura wanted to go into her final exam feeling the sting of Naruto's discipline still on her body. Getting what she wanted was easy as her Naruto-sama was very passionate and easy to excite.

She looked at the outfit she had chosen for herself. It was not the Shinobi outfit she had chosen for herself but was instead specifically chosen to excite her blonde master. She shivered wondering where she would be when his desire for her would snap and he would embarrass her again. Along with her full body blush came the soaking of the pajama shorts she had pulled on to make breakfast.

… **General Shinobi Studies Classroom, Konohagakure Shinobi Academy**

She was right on the edge. Her outfit had done its job and she was sure it was the orange in her panties that cause him to put her so completely on display. She thought he might have teased her with the threat of exposure but she had miscalculated and the entire class had been peaking back to look up her skirt that had quickly become a belt as his fingers danced over her most intimate area.

Kiba had looked directly in her eye before letting his eyes drift down between her legs and then she saw his nose twitch. The smile on his face as she knew he captured her aroused scent had been humiliating and almost caused her to climax. But Naruto had ordered her not to until Iruka-sensei showed up.

She had almost failed, too, when Ino had caught her eye. First the other girl had licked her lips but then she had made a subtle motion before raising her fingers to Hinata's view. Her extreme training had given her super human eyesight even without her dojutsu active and she could see the wetness on Ino's fingers before the girl stuck it in her mouth. To Hinata it was a message that Ino knew she was bisexual.

Eventually Iruka-sensei walked in and his eyes almost instantly met hers. She held her release until she saw his eyes lowered. She could almost feel his eyes grazing over her exposed center and she instantly shivered through a satisfying orgasm. She made no sound because of how hard she bit down on her lip and with only her will she was able to stop the moan. It had been part of her instructions.

Everyone knew what she was and about her relationship with Naruto but she had never been put so openly on display before and her body seemed incapable of calming as her mind kept screaming that everyone had seen her and knew for a fact she was a slut now. The whole class now knew that she was completely shaved and Kiba and Shino had her scent now. If she was aroused around them, they would forever know it. By the time her mind settled and the last pleasurable tremor calmed she was in her seat with her test in front of her.

The written test was very easy for Sakura. It was actually made easier by the thrumming pain in her ass from the morning's spanking. What wasn't helpful was the continuous throbbing pain she was getting from the clip on her clit. She had gotten the spanking, as she planned, because her behavior in the shower. She had even got a bonus soreness in her jaw as she was allowed to give his manhood some personal attention. The clip was punishment for her blatant attempt at manipulating him.

The spanking had been exactly what she needed to stay focused during the graduation exams but the clip was distracting her as it represented his power over her, the fact that even when she thought she was "topping from the bottom" he was still in control. And so she was ridiculously horny. He had beaten her at her own game and nothing turned her on more than that and now she had to work at focusing on her test.

He had done the same, basically, to Hinata. She had tried to manipulate him as well with her short skirt and half open kimono. Sakura thought the orange highlights in the skimpy panties was a nice touch but was just as surprised as Hinata when he had turned the tables on her as well. Putting her on display and openly playing with her body for the 15 minutes it took for Iruka-sensei to reach the classroom. She could see that Hinata was stuck taking the test in a state of horniness as well. She loved him so much.

…

Umino Iruka and his replacement teaching assistant Umeji Sekiko watched the final student leave the classroom. Of the 18 students that reached this point, all of them had passed the final test. More than that he was convinced that the majority of them could pass the revised test that was to be implemented over the next three years.

Including Naruto, 8 of the graduates were clan members. In fact all 8 were clan heirs. All of them had been talented before the arrival of Mitarashi Anko, but Iruka had to admit to himself that she had provided a missing ingredient to the shinobi training that he had not realized they had been lacking. Seeing the results made the need seem obvious. The Academy had been turning young bodies into instruments of stealth and assassination but had not been taking the same care to develop the mind.

No one understood the mind better than the people in T&I and Anko was still in line to be the next section head despite her new assignment at the Academy. She had focused and inspired his student's minds and their bodies had followed. Amazingly the results were not just metaphysical. True, he had more mentally prepared and determined students but all of their chakra pools had increased beyond expectations and everyone's chakra control had gotten better.

In the years he had been teaching, the average jutsu rank for graduating classes had been high D class to low C class. The current crop, including the civilians were all combat capable at C class jutsu. And that was true not counting the A class jutsu that Naruto, Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke all knew. It went without saying that he was excited about what the students would become. As was tradition, Iruka and Sekiko were the last instructors the students would see after receiving their hitai-ates. All the instructors had already left and the two left to join their comrades in the Hokage tower to make their final recommendations for team configurations and answer questions from the Jonin instructors.

… **Mōjin No Hi Restaurant, Konohagakure**

The entire graduating class, minus one, was together celebrating. Normally, the intrinsically competitive nature of the Shinobi Academy and shinobi life in general meant that bonds were rare. Bonds between a whole class was inconceivable. But this class had faced adulthood together and that forged bonds that were impossible to ignore.

The most embarrassing parts of puberty and growing up had been publicly discussed for all of them in, at the time, humiliating detail. Shino had talked about how his bugs affected his sexual performance and desire. Kiba had shared that the Inuzuka clan practiced bestiality. And on and on. From wet dreams to menstruation cycles to how to properly have anal sex and clean up when an accident happened. They had gotten a full education and experiencing that together left a mark.

"I have something to tell you all" Naruto stood up and said. "What I am about to tell you is a S-class secret in the village and only the Hokage and I are authorized to share it." Hinata and Sakura knew he planned to do this and they sat quietly. Naruto had decided to tell them not because he considered them all friends, he didn't. And not because he trusted them, he really didn't. He was telling them because he thought they needed to know. People knew and not knowing made it a weapon that could be used against them.

Naruto explained the truth of the Kyuubi incident from 16 years earlier. He explained that the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato had used his skill in sealing to sacrifice himself to the Shinigami in exchange for sealing the Nine-tailed demon fox inside a new born baby. And that he was that baby. All of the new genin connected Naruto's treatment in the village to the announcement. Naruto explained the connection anyway along with what the Sandaime had done and the laws he had created.

The nameless waiter that had been serving the celebrating group smiled to himself at the stupidity of the "demon brat". The Hokage's seriousness about the subject had done nothing to change any minds and instead just made sure that Naruto would not be directly attacked or mistreated anymore. He hated how he was forced to behave but he had a family with a son "above the age". But the man eagerly waited to see the brat be rejected by his friends and nothing could be done as the boy had exposed himself.

The nameless waiter was surprised at the seething anger that erupted from one particular genin. Most of the group were startled at the killing intent as well. Mostly because they were surprised by it. Shikamaru was actually one of Naruto's friends so it was expected that he would be understanding. Then he spoke and his words froze the blood of all present, including the nameless waiter.

"Those fools!" the brilliant boy almost screamed. Thinking the boy was angry on his behalf, Naruto was about to calm him but the boy continued. "Naruto, I am sorry for how you were treated. I really am. But those fools could have doomed us all." He looked at his confused classmates. "What happens when a storage scroll is destroyed?" The boy seethed. Dawning horror was the best description.

The nameless waiter was confused but then the Nara started ranting. Eventually he understood. Destroying a storage scroll does not destroy its contents. It releases them. If the villagers had simply killed Naruto, the bijuu would just be released in the center of the village. Once the waiter understood, he had been forced to seek air and that didn't prevent him from throwing up.

It is impossible to describe how terrified the villagers were of the Kyuubi returning and the thought that he had supported actions that might have brought the creature back almost broke the man. He left work trembling the whole way. He had never actively participated in "fox hunting" but he had witnessed it once or twice and the notion that he would have been at ground zero for the reappearance of his worst nightmare was too much for him.

It would take his wife an entire day to get the story from her distraught husband. She refused to believe it as she had lost her brother in the attack. But the nameless waiter's wife was a gossip and before long, the story had spread. Then someone confirmed that a damaged storage seal released its contents. Then a civilian bought a storage seal and then burnt the paper. The group that gathered to watch saw the knife re-appear and make the point very clear when the knife fell from the fire and both cut and burned the man's cat. Ironically, despite the great change this would bring, the Nara was wrong.

The newly minted genin were unaware of all this and instead absorbed the news of Naruto's captive with the logical detachment Anko-sensei had taught them. Other than being disgusted with the stupidity of the civilians, the party went on with Naruto feeling relieved after revealing what he considered his important secret. The fact that he was the Yondaime's son was not something he considered important for anyone to know, nor did he think the discovery of it would cause any problem.

… **Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

Just before entering the room with the Hokage, the Shinobi Council, the Jonin instructors and his fellow Academy instructors, Sekiko grabbed Iruka's hand and pulled it beneath her skirt and rubbed his fingers across the gusset of her panties. It was soaked. "Anko said that we all should talk after this" the woman said before dipping quickly into the room.

Iruka was only shocked for a moment. Anko had told him months ago she intended to surprise him with how she would get in his pants. Knowing her intention had left him both aroused and on edge every time they were together and he had almost decided she was just playing with his head. He brought his finger up to his nose and smiled. Anko was very good at what she did. Then he groaned as he would have to try and focus during what would probably be a very contentious meeting. Placing all the clan heirs while the clan heads were present would be, as Shikamaru would say, troublesome.

When he entered he saw that Sekiko had moved next to Anko. He met her eyes without flinching, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing him falter. She winked at him and then started nibbling on her thumb. Sekiko's blush told him were that thumb had been. He locked eyes with her and allowed his desire and lust to manifest for her alone, for one moment, and then moved to his position. He was pleased to see that he had caused a small blush in his tormentor.

Unaware of the small interaction, Sarutobi Hiruzen called the meeting to order. The team selections were a very exciting event. Most of the people there, including the shinobi council, were not needed but just wanted to watch as the decisions got made.

It started with Iruka giving a summary of each candidate. He would then ask the teacher of the student's best subject and worse subject, if not himself, to add their own thoughts. Then Iruka would present three roles the student could play in a team and one he absolutely should not. Next the Jonin instructors would ask clarifying questions. The Shinobi council would join in this but mostly just to get more information about their clan members.

Sarutobi Asuma won the draw to make and defend his team selection first. Each Jonin instructor would have an opportunity to select a three-man team based on the information they had heard in the meeting and whatever extra information they had been able to dig up (they were shinobi after all). They would state the purpose of the team, why the selected members would meet that goal and why they felt they would be a good sensei for that team.

In the past a Jonin had selected an excellent team and then lost it to a better instructor for the purpose. Or had lost a key member to a better purposed team destroying the team the first had wanted to create. The back and forth was why most came to watch. The Hokage had the final decision and would not speak till the very end. Just listen.

"I wish to build a stealth and infiltration team. The purpose of this team will be espionage, sabotage, assassination and recovery. I am suited to lead such a team because it is a role I had as a leaf nin and my skills in stealth and infiltration has only increased due to my time as a Guardian Shinobi." Many people nodded at the start of Asuma's presentation. He was not at the level of Kakashi, but he was well known and well respected in the village as a stealth and infiltration specialist. And the duty of a Guardian Shinobi was to remain unseen.

The Guardian Shinobi of the Daimyo were the ANBU equivalent for the Fire Lord. The Daimyo was also known to recruit ANBU into his Guardian Shinobi and it spoke well for Asuma that he had been accepted into the elite force despite not being a Konoha ANBU beforehand.

"The team I would like to train is Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura." The team selections was serious business so his choices were not met by gasps or feckless murmuring. Instead he was taken seriously and the questions began. Naruto's pranks and ability to outwit ANBU were given consideration. As was Hinata's ability to move about completely unnoticed despite being the "princess" of the Hyuga clan. He planned for Naruto and Hinata to be assassination specialists.

Asuma was most excited about Sakura as he had some interesting plans for her near perfect Chakra control. His most interesting being using it to plant explosion tags with her feet and conduct dead drops. Her level of control would allow for her to do it without detection by even chakra sensors. People nodded as they knew how skilled one had to be with chakra to use it and not be detected by a chakra sensor. Sakura did not yet have the skill but Asuma outlined part of his planned training regimen to get her there.

Asuma's final argument was about resource management. Virtually all stealth and infiltration missions currently were being handled by ANBU. Because of that they were all classed as S rank missions. That was cost prohibitive for many clients. Asuma suggested that once his team was trained and deployed, the village could accept B and A rank stealth and infiltration missions and maybe even an A rank assassination.

Many of the ANBU and former ANBU present liked this idea. Infiltrating a civilian's business was way below their skill level. The ANBU captain liked the idea as well as he saw a team like that as being a good way to scout future ANBU candidates.

Sarutobi Asuma grew up as the son of the Hokage and had learned to leave no doubt about his skill or preparedness when acting because every achievement would always be questioned by some as to whether it was deserved or a product of him being the "honorable son". So his presentation set a new bar. Unfortunately, no one else met the standard.

Kurenai decided that it was too much to ask (and risk) to get both Sakura and Hinata so tried to build a tracking team with Hinata, Kiba and Shino. The team made sense. Hinata for short range tracking with her eyes, Kiba for short to medium range with his ninken, Akamaru and Shino for long range with his bugs. She faltered on why she should lead such a team. She was a genjutsu mistress.

Kakashi also stumbled on his desire to have Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. His choice was based on his desire to both teach his sensei's son and help the last Uchiha as a duty to his former teammate who gave him his Sharingan eye. His team made sense. It was an assault team, for sure, and Kakashi was very famous as an assault type shinobi. He faltered when asked how he intended to work around the animosity between Sasuke and Naruto. He also faltered when he was not able to articulate a training plan for the team he requested.

Two Jonin, a med-nin and a former ANBU were allowed to make a presentation. It was not as good as Asuma's but they chose three of the civilians to become an emergency response team. A team that would be combat capable and that could do field medicine. Hiruzen really liked the idea remembering his own student's version of it. With the changes he was making, this could be the first step to implementing her idea. Hiruzen watched the heated discussions going on and smiled at what he viewed as the "will of fire" in action.


	8. Time to Team

… **Academy District, Konohagakure**

It was the day of team announcements and Naruto and his two girls headed to the Academy. All three were concerned about the teams they would be put on, doubtful that they would have their wish and be teamed up together. The best they could hope for was for two of them to be on the same team. Each of the three hoping that the other two would be able to be together. Sakura believed that Hinata needed Naruto more than she did, Hinata believing the same about Sakura due to her lack of anger control when Naruto was not present. Naruto just didn't like the thought of one of his girls being alone on a team.

They were all dressed in their "official" shinobi gear. Designed to balance practicality, sexiness and, as Naruto insisted, "bad-ass-ery". Hinata had refined her outfit slightly. She still wore the sheer body stocking, with scandalously tight and short shorts, with hooded crop top and fingerless gloves. She had replaced the loin cloth with a dark purply sash that held her hitai-ate on her right hip while the ends of the sash hung off of her left hip stopping at her thigh.

The Uzumaki swirl was embroidered in purple on the ends of the sash as well. Her crop top was now sleeveless, cut back beyond her shoulder to increase her range of motion. Noticeably when her top was unzipped, she also wore a thin dark orange leather choker with a round silver tag that had a kanji that Naruto had created and made public that identified her as one of his personal slaves.

Sakura wore the same stab and slash resistant sheer body stocking as Hinata (and most kunoichi). Over it she wore a dark green leotard that seemed to meld with the stocking and put all her curves on display. On her legs, she wore thigh high dark green socks. She wore padded gloves with metal studs in the knuckles. She completed the outfit with a dark green hooded jacket that stopped just above her waist. The Uzumaki swirl was embroidered in matching green on the back of the jacket and she wore the same dark orange choker as Hinata. Her Hitai-ate was sewn to the top band of her left sock. (Based on Emilia from the game Dance Central)

As she walked to the Academy she was in "casual" mode with the jacket open and hood down. People like Kurenai would object to her outfit as they did Hinata's. Focusing on the fact that if someone looked closely they could see her nipples poking through both the mesh and leotard as well as the gentle curves of her sex pressed into the material between her legs and the fact that her ass was not fully covered.

However, to the keen observer, and those in the know, the practicality of the outfit would stand out. The socks she wore were lined with shin, knee and thigh guards, reinforced by seals to match Sakura's fighting style that used powerful kicks. Also even though every article she wore was in a very dark green, they had shade differences that not only made the outfit stylish but increased its stealthy-ness. Her gloves were also reinforced with seals. Like Hinata, her hood concealed a face mask.

It is normally impossible to be a man walking between two sexy teenage kunoichi dressed to garner attention but Uzumaki Naruto made the impossible possible as a daily ritual. His "official" shinobi outfit was drawing more attention than the girls to either side of him. The main cause was his pants. Male shinobi pants were typically not tight but Naruto's were. The material was thicker than what ANBU uniforms were made from but still showed off the strong muscles that were on his legs. The highlight for the female villagers was the obvious bulge that he did nothing to hide that was beneath the hitai-ate he wore as a belt buckle (based on Batman's costume pants from BvS:DOJ).

Wrapped around his shins were chakra metal shin guards and on his feet were ANBU sandals. His impressive bulge garnered a great deal of sly looks and giggles, but it was his upper body that the women had no qualms about steering at. His top seems to be as sturdy as his pants and was tight enough to show all of the detail of his rippling six pack abs and bulging muscular chest. It was a hooded tank top that left his shoulders uncovered. On his arms, he wore a compression sleeve made of the same material that went from his wrist to half way up his biceps. The entire outfit was black with dark rust orange colored accents. The Uzumaki swirl was embroidered in that orange on each of his sleeves.

… **General Shinobi Studies Classroom, Konohagakure Shinobi Academy**

Sasuke watched as the "dobe" and his two "sluts" entered the class. He couldn't help but sneer at the boy he blamed for all of the troubles he faced in his final year in the academy. His eyes drifted to one particular "slut" and he had to forcibly prevent his arm from drifting to his kunai pouch. He hated them all but the little Hyuga bitch was someone he desperately wanted to kill. It was a travesty that Uzumaki had taken the "Rookie of the Year" position from him but the notion that a kunoichi would also take a rank above him was a humiliation he could not bear.

In the last Uchiha's mind the entire village was looking down on him because of it and he believed he could feel the anger and disappointment from the spirit of his dead father. So much so that he had moved out of the main house of the Uchiha compound. He had moved after the day of his final taijutsu spar with the girl. He had gone into the match with the intent to kill her. He knew he could not get away with using ninjutsu, but short of that he had gone at her with everything he had. Not only had he lost the match but no one seemed to notice that he was trying to kill her.

He tore his gaze from the three people he hated almost as much as his brother and looked around the classroom. He was ranked third in the class so he was better than everyone else but even then, he felt no satisfaction. The difference between him and them was not that great. In fact, some of them had the nerve to be better than him in individual fields. His ninjutsu was better than almost everyone but more than a third of the class was better than him in taijutsu and shurikenjutsu. He was in the bottom half of the class for stealth and infiltration and he was dead last in the class for seduction, not that he counted that.

He took a breath to calm himself when Iruka-sensei walked in the class. He had to because he hated that man as well. The clanless peasant had always refused to show him the proper respect. But over the last year he had been systematically denied the privileges he had previously been afforded. Private access to the library and training field, personal training, test-prep, etc. had all been taken from him and he knew that the "baka" of a sensei was the reason. Him and "the snake bitch", Mitarashi Anko.

"Ok, students, have a seat." Iruka called out and everyone got settled. He looked at the group and smiled. They really represented a sea change for the village. Konoha had the reputation of being the strongest of the shinobi villages, but the students before him represented, for the first time to him, evidence that it was true.

It was not an easy task to gage what the typical skill and power level was for a shinobi as the actual strength of a village was normally a well-guarded secret. But part of every incident report between shinobis of different villages was a section on the perceived strength and skill of the other shinobi. Especially if it was learned that they were facing a genin team. Similar reports were written during the Chunin exams. It was an ongoing process, but what Iruka believed was that the crop of students before him far surpassed the average.

Smiling to himself he took a breath and got to business. "I will now announce the team assignments." He said in a clear voice that somehow made the already quit room, quieter. "As you know the Team 1 designation is on permanent suspension." Everyone knew about the circumstances that retired that Team designation.

"Teams 3 and 6 from last year suffered enough deaths to be disbanded but as a rule those designations will not be available for another year to pay respect to the losses." It was a sobering reminder of the truth about the Shinobi life. Only a third of each graduating class became true genin and only a third of that group survived past their first year. "…and Team 9 is still active." Iruka finished.

Naruto was respectful of the loss of life and potential represented by Iruka-sensei's announcements but he honestly believed that his class could beat the odds. He looked around and wondered which of his classmates would be lost. Then Iruka-sensei pulled out a scroll. "Team 2 shall be…" and he named three of the civilian graduates. Team 4 was the proposed med-nin emergency response team. Team 5 was a second trio of civilians.

Hinata's was the first name called for Team 7 and Naruto, felt himself and his two girls stiffen. Sakura's name was called second and Naruto exhaled. He had gotten his wish. Of all the remaining students available, as long as Sasuke wasn't put with his ladies, he would be comfortable that someone he could trust would have their back. "…and Uzumaki Naruto. Your Jonin sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka concluded.

Hinata, Sakura and Naruto struggled hard to maintain a bit of self-control but it cracked almost immediately as Hinata jumped into Naruto's lap and Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck. Naruto was whispering all the dirty things he would do to both of them to celebrate and the party almost started when Iruka-sensei cleared his throat. The three separated a bit, Hinata staying in Naruto's lap and settled down. Most of the room smiled at their good fortune.

"As I was saying…" Iruka continued sending a wry smile at his favorite trio of students. "…Team 8 is Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Uchiha Sasuke. Your Jonin instructor is Hatake Kakashi." He looked up and saw Kiba and Shino fist bump. He was personally pleased with that team as he was sure that Kiba and Shino would not be intimidated by Sasuke. Also, even though he was sure Sasuke could beat each of them in an all-out fight, together they would destroy the last Uchiha and the arrogant boy knew it.

It was obvious as they were the only ones left but Iruka said "Team 10 is Akimichi Chōji, Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru. Your Jonin instructor is Yuhi Kurenai." Chōji and Ino were celebrating in ways similar to Naruto and his girls. Shikamaru was just shaking his head and muttering troublesome. Iruka was really curious about how that team would turn out.

Kurenai was chosen for them in the hopes of refining their chakra control and perhaps unlocking knew uses of the three clan techniques and making the new generation of the Ina-Shika-Cho even more amazing. Iruka was curious about how the Jonin instructor would deal with how perverted her lone kunoichi student actually was. He snickered to himself.

… **Hokage Monument, Konohagakure**

Asuma had collected his three new students and brought them to the top of the Hokage Monument. Naruto was familiar with the spot as he visited it often. It made sense to him that a fellow "son of the Hokage" would also consider it a significant area. Then Asuma made a hand seal and a privacy bubble similar to the one Naruto had seen used in the Hokage's office activated.

After taking a moment to look over the village, Asuma turned to them and said "I have read the report on the three of you and I have no doubt you know most things about each other. I am the new member of this team and supposed to be its leader. So I would like each of you to introduce yourselves and tell us something that you believe none of your two lovers know. I will start."

Asuma took a breath and looked back over the village. "My name is Sarutobi Asuma. I am the Sandaime Hokage's son. I like strength, power, adventure and perverted women. I dislike politics, boredom and unresponsive women. My dream is to be known for the man I am first, before whose son I am. And something secret that no one else knows, is that I once came very close to killing my brother in cold blood and becoming a missing nin."

The three genin looked at their sensei in shock. Before anything could be said, Naruto spoke up "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, it is an S-class secret that I am the Yondaime Hokage's son and the Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi no Yōko. My loves are Hinata, Sakura and ramen. I dislike politics as well, the three minutes it takes to make instant ramen, and the villagers who still see me as the demon I contain and not myself. My dream is to restore the Uzumaki Clan, establish the Namikaze Clan, rebuild Uzushiogakure and become Hokage. Something no one knows is that I once tried to commit suicide. Hokage-jiji thinks it was a failed attack by the villagers."

Hinata and Sakura, both looked at Naruto with sharp eyes. They knew that he did not like pity and he certainly would not want them to shower him with attention because of his confession. They were also mature enough to see his confession as a growth to their relationship and not dwell on the fact that he had not told them before. They noticed that it was the first time he had referred to the Hokage as "jiji" since the beginning of the school year. Asuma recognized that as well.

The S-class secret as well as the young man's continued distance from his father was in the briefing he had been given. His suicide attempt was unsurprising and actually made Asuma feel better. He was worried that the young man had too many repressed emotions about his treatment. That he had been overcome by them and survived was a good start to healing. He wished it hadn't gone that far but it was better than dealing with a lit fuse that he had no idea when the bomb would explode.

Hinata spoke. "My name is Hyuga Hinata. I am the heiress to the Hyuga Clan. My loves are Naruto and Sakura, having them playing with my body whenever they want, and cinnamon buns. My dislikes are having to make decisions, the Cage Bird Seal and my father. My dream is to have many children for Naruto, to destroy the Cage Bird Seal and reunite the main and branch members of my clan."

She took a breath, "Something no one know is that when I was three years old, a Kumo-nin who was in the village negotiating a peace treaty, tried to kidnap me. That is a secret that most of the clan-heads and village leaders know. What no-one knows is that I was the one who killed the Kumo nin. He was fighting with my father and I used my byakugan and a gentle fist strike to stop his heart. My father hates me because I didn't become the prodigy he expected after my first kill."

Like for Naruto, neither of Hinata's two lovers tried to comfort her in that moment. Instead Sakura made the last introduction. "My name is Haruno Sakura, I am from a civilian family and am the first Shinobi it ever produced. My loves are Naruto and Hinata. I dislike weaklings. My dream is to bare strong children for Naruto, that I become the strongest shinobi my potential will allow and that Naruto will still be able to beat me when that happens. What no one knows is that at the end of the first year of the academy I offered to give Sasuke a blow job. I don't know if he knew what that was when he rejected me but I had no idea what I was offering."

Sakura's life had been without drama. She was from an upper middle class civilian family that had ambitions of becoming absorbed by a shinobi clan. She was loved and supported and faced no real drama. Compared to the weighty secrets of the other two, hers was more of an embarrassing anecdote. No one laughed until she did. After the four people calmed from their chuckling, Asuma stepped to the edge of the mountain and looked again at the village. His three students joined him. The silence was not as awkward as it could have been.

Asuma turned back to his students. "At this point I am supposed to give you the real genin test. On average, only a third of the students who graduate the Academy, pass their Jōnin instructor's test. Failure typically means going back to the Academy for another year or being kicked out of the shinobi program all together."

Asuma turned his back to look out over the village again though this time his eyes were on the Hokage mansion. "I can pass you write now. You are obviously a team and beyond ready for the shinobi like. Or you can accept a real challenge. One that has real benefits and real consequences. If you accept this challenge and succeed, you will gain power, true power. Power enough to challenge a Sanin. But if you fail or are caught, I will probably be executed and the three of you might be as well. Because of who Naruto and I are, it might even cause the Sandaime to have to step down and the Sarutobi Clan to lose all honor. "

The three genin stood in shock looking at the man who would be their instructor. What was he proposing that could have such great risk and such great reward? "All I will tell you before you decide is that we will be betraying the village and my father, but it will not be to any outside force and the only gain will be by the four of us." Hinata and Sakura looked at Naruto. This was not their decision to make. Being a master seems like fun but it is a responsibility and Naruto was facing that now. His decision would not just affect his life but lives of his two most precious people. But he was a shinobi, and risk was the life he had signed up for. He met Asuma's eyes and said "we're in."

Asuma did not even look to the two girls for confirmation as he already knew how their relationship worked. Instead he pulled out a small black book. "Do you know what this is?" he asked. "That's a bingo book" Naruto answered. Asuma nodded and opened it to a specific page. Before handing it to them. The entry was for Hoshigaki Kisame. Kirigakure S-rank missing-nin and one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist. He was the wielder of Samehada, a blade that literally ate chakra. He was known as the "Tailed Beast with No Tail" and that section was underlined. Apparently, he had super human chakra reserves that many compared to the tailed beast.

What Asuma told them next caused their eyes to widen. Kisame's power did not come from Samehada, it was what the sword had been attracted to. Samehada's power came from a successful experiment. A seal was developed in Kiri to absorb the chakra from the tailed beast and permanently add it to the reserves of a person. The seal could only be used on each person once but since the tailed beasts always recovered their chakra over time, it could be used over and over on all the shinobi.

Asuma had been sent by the Yondaime to steal the seal knowledge. Asuma had no idea how the Yondaime Hokage knew of its existence as he was sure that less than 5 people in Kiri knew about it. Not even Kisame knew about it because he was knocked out before the procedure and returned to his home after it was complete.

Asuma successfully completed the mission but his partner was killed and he had been forced to burn the man's body to destroy the evidence of their presence. But he returned the seal to the Yondaime and it was used to perfect the seal Naruto carried. After the death of Naruto's father, Asuma had approached his father about using the seal but his father refused and the argument is what made him consider killing his brother and what led him to joining the Daimyo's guardian shinobi.

The Yondaime Hokage was a genius at seals and both the original and, Asuma suspected, an improved version was locked in the forbidden scroll. Asuma's challenge was to steal the forbidden scroll, copy all the info about the two seals and return it without being discovered. Then use the seal to give each of them a couple tail's worth of power from the Nine-tailed fox.

Then the planning began.

… **Hokage's Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked over his group of Jonin sensei's as they came to report on which of the new prospective teams would earn the status of genin. "Report" the Hokage demanded. The first Jonin stepped forward and announced, "Team 2, fail." Then the second spoke "Team 4, pass". Sarutobi smiled at that, he had high hopes for the combat medic team. Then Asuma stepped forward and announced that his team had passed.

Hiruzen was very proud of his son. He had always been but as with Naruto he had made many mistakes with his family and had almost lost his son because of it. But Asuma's time with the guardian shinobi seemed to have done him good and he was still smiling at how thorough and professional his oldest had been when making a case for his team and himself. The mission office was already preparing for when the team would be ready to take B rank stealth and infiltration missions.

Kakashi had not turned up yet so Hiruzen indicated Kurenai to make her announcement. He smiled as she begrudgingly announced that her team passed. Rumors had already begun to swirl around the tense relationship between the genjutsu mistress and her female student. Ino was an unabashed pervert. She had even started to peek in the male side of the hot springs and her and Chōji had been spotted doing inappropriate things just that morning. Hiruzen would later hear from Yuyu that Kurenai had tried to admonish Chōji for his behavior only to be smacked down by Ino who insisted it was her idea.

With the results announced, the Jonin took the time to detail their various tests and how the genin had passed or failed them. 20 minutes later Kakashi showed up. "Yo". Without preamble the Hokage said "report". Kakashi was a little surprised by the abruptness and tone he was detecting but decided he might be over reacting. "Team 8, pass" he said. The other Jonin all expressed curiosity about a team passing the infamous "bell test" for the first time.

Kakashi told the story. Kiba and Shino figured out the purpose almost instantly and decided that they couldn't trust Sasuke to work as a team. So instead the riled him up until his pride caused him to attack Kakashi. Thinking the Uchiha was just sinking the chances of his fellow teammates, Kakashi did not take the fight as seriously as he should. Shino tagged him with a bug to prevent him from using a clone or shunshin to escape them. Then Shino henged into Akamaru as a distraction and then broke the henge at a crazy moment allowing the real ninken to grab the bells.

Kakashi admitted that with the reputation of the Aburame, it was a shock to see that the excitable dog had actually been Shino the entire time. Once they had the bells, Kiba and Shino threw them both to a surprised Sasuke, before explaining that they understood the purpose of the test. The few people in the office still blinded by their "love" for the last loyal Uchiha were shocked at how little he was involved in his team passing. Four new genin teams, all with a great deal of potential. Sarutobi Hiruzen was pleased.


	9. Their Genin Test Begins

… **Outside the Hokage Mansion, Konohagakure**

Team 7 was working hard to keep their emotions in check. Especially excitement. It had been two weeks since they had become a team and they had spent the vast majority of that time planning for what they were about to do. They would not even pause to do their required D-rank missions, instead after collecting a D-rank mission scroll from the Hokage's office each day, Naruto would create 4 clones and henge 3 of them into Asuma-sensei, Hinata and Sakura and send them to do the mission while the real Team 7 continued planning and training for there "real genin test mission". Now it was time.

Asuma-sensei had already reported to the mission office that he would be taking his team into the forest of death for a couple days. It was an odd thing to do, but not ridiculous. Especially with the new attitudes toward training Shinobi that had been infecting the village. When word spread of what the former guardian shinobi had done, training missions into the dangerous forest training area would start to spread among the teams.

With everything ready, the four shinobi moved. What they were doing was no easy task. Even before the rejuvenation of the ANBU corps, it would have been very difficult to penetrate into the Hokage mansion. The ANBU of Konoha, however, have been regaining the skill to match their reputation. But Naruto and Asuma together were already masters at infiltration. Adding Hinata's eyes to that made them almost unstoppable.

It took 4 hours, but they reached the room next to the one with the scroll. They sealed the couch cushions into a scroll and henged into replacements. Then waited. They waited and entire day until 10 am on the second morning they un-henged. Getting in at night, despite the patrols was easier than getting in during the day, but taking the scroll was easier during the day as the building had less active patrols through the halls.

Careful of their shadows they prepared for the next part of the plan. The cushions were replaced in the staging room and a couple pillows from the office with the scroll were sealed. The holder of the scroll had multiple detection seals on it. As did the container that held the scroll. Once they move it they would have 15 seconds before someone showed up. Once they were ready Hinata and Sakura henged themselves to pillows again.

Then Asuma grabbed the container off the holder, knocked off the cap, pulled out the forbidden scroll, replaced it with a fake, dropped both, to make it look like it had fallen open and henged into a pillow. As soon as Asuma became a pillow, Naruto released Tora, the cat of the Daimyo's wife and henged himself into a pillow before the cat could get its bearings or see him.

One second after completing his henge, the Hokage and two ANBU appeared in the room. The place was a mess and Tora was running around causing more destruction. The "demon cat" was captured and the room was put back in order. That night Team 7 exited the Hokage mansion with their prize and made it into the forest of death.

… **Central Tower, Forest of Death, Konohagakure**

Team 7 was giddy. Even Asuma-sensei was excited about what they had accomplished. But now was not the time for celebrating. The longer they had the real scroll, the more chance that the fake was discovered. After a quick moment of self-congratulations the team moved to the next part of the plan.

Naruto made 200 shadow clones. Most of the time leading up to this effort was to give Naruto time to learn to write better. It also helped in his most recent mastery goal, fuinjutsu. He had paused that effort to prepare for this mission. His focus on writing was needed so that he could copy all the required information quickly.

The forbidden scroll was actually a highly advanced storage scroll. It contained other scrolls with various forbidden jutsus on them. Copying jutsus did not work on any of them so they would have to read and then copy it. Asuma, Hinata and Sakura meticulously searched each storage seal on the large scroll for the information they wanted. All other discoveries were ignored except one. The sealing info for the seal that the ROOT organization used to prevent mind walking was copied. What they were doing could not be discovered, on purpose or by accident.

It took an hour to find it. And another 4 hours, for the 200 clones to make four copies. Each copy was made by a set of 50 clones independently of each other. The reason was to account for any accidental strokes or miss readings. Asuma, Hinata, Sakura and the original Naruto matched with each clone team reading over the section they were working on.

When it was done, including the copy of the ROOT sealing matrix and notes. The entire thing was put back together carefully. Then each copy was sealed into a storage seal engraved on the back of each person's hitai-ate and the actually forbidden scroll was sealed in Asuma's sandals.

… **Hokage's office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

"Interesting" said Sarutobi Hiruzen. His son had asked to speak to him in his capacity as the Jonin sensei for Team 7 and presented him with an idea. One he liked. Asuma was building a stealth and infiltration team and Hiruzen had a group of ANBU that he wanted to test. Asuma had suggested that the team try to break into the Hokage mansion and "steal" the forbidden scroll.

To add even more difficulty, the team would have to bring it to Hiruzen at his desk. The Hokage liked it because even if Team 7 failed, which he expected, it might uncover some holes in their security. Something best done when the stakes were low. The Hokage approved the mission and surprised Asuma when he decided to not only make it an official C-Rank mission for his team but told him that he would make such tests against the villages security a revolving C-rank mission for genin and chunin to take.

Asuma still had some issues with his father, but he was starting to see that the man had been devastated by the death of his wife and favorite "grand-student". Yuyu had helped bring back the man that Asuma had idolized as boy and he took the time to tell his father that before he left. Yuyu would be surprised by the increase in affection Asuma's blessing would bring to her.

… **Outside Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

Team 7 was once again outside the Hokage mansion. When the time arrived, they made their move. Wanting to both hide their full capabilities and make sure that no suspicion fell to them, they were purposely sloppy. They exposed the larger holes in security but tripped themselves up over the smaller ones. By the time they reached the forbidden scroll Sakura and Hinata had been captured and the alarm had been sent out.

Naruto got captured escaping with Asuma and the scroll and Asuma only made it half way to the Hokage tower before he was captured. Team 7 along with the ANBU commander, a shinobi no one but the Hokage knew the identity of, sat together in a room with the real forbidden scroll and went through a debrief about what holes Team 7 had found and how they exploited them. They even identified holes they saw but didn't have the skill to exploit.

Hiruzen and the ANBU commander were both impressed by what Asuma had been able to discover as weaknesses in the village security. The young genin were obviously not as skilled as their Jonin sensei but the three provided very insightful analysis.

Sakura, especially, impressed the ANBU commander as she pointed out multiple ways she could have escaped capture if she had been more skilled based on what she had read. Her comment that some Kiri-nin were known to be able to do one handed seals to perform jutsu and that one of her hands had not been as secure as it should have been had actually stunned the person hidden behind the highest ranking ANBU mask. The general opinion by all was to make sure the ANBU didn't become complacent.

Toward the end of the meeting, Asuma suggested that it might be a good idea to include Jonin and off duty ANBU in the security test missions. The ANBU commander really liked that plan. Competition breaded excellence and pitting ANBU against one another was already a tradition.

The Hokage also like the idea and raised the stakes even higher. He announced that each month he would issue an A-rank mission. The mission would involve two teams of ANBU. The first team would attempt to "assassinate" him and the on duty ANBU would have to stop them and capture the "enemy" ANBU alive. Whichever team succeeded would get the mission credit and pay, plus the money would come out of the pockets of the defeated side.

The ANBU commander really loved the idea and started planning to implement it. He would have to make sure that the members of each team rotated. Already adapting to some of the holes Asuma's team had identified he included in his planning the implementation of a daily password system so that an enemy nin could not use a training mission as a way to do mischief.

… **Training Ground # 8, Konohagakure**

The training grounds of the village hidden in the leaves had a combined area of four times the size of the village. It was the belief of the older experienced villagers that the training grounds were the true secret to the strength of the most powerful shinobi village. The village was built in a valley surrounded on three sides by a mountain range, part of which made up the Hokage monument.

The village took up three quarters of the opening to the valley and the remaining quarter was the forest of death. During the Shinobi war era, towers had been built along the mountain ridge as well as in the forest of death. War mongers like Shimura Danzō were not happy with a lot of what a rejuvenated Sandaime Hokage was doing, but the increase to village security and activation of the defense towers was something he agreed with. Unfortunately the man was still too committed to diplomacy for their tastes.

The training grounds in the valley had been split into 44 separate areas. The higher the number, the more experience one had to be to use it. Each area was designed to present training shinobi with different terrains and challenges. Lakes, rivers, trails, and towns could all be found within the training grounds to test and refine a shinobi's skills.

In the woods of training ground # 8, in a clearing is a small fort with a few buildings. In the central building, Team 7 was becoming familiar with the seal that would change all of their lives. It had been two weeks since their successful stealing of the forbidden scroll. They were being very careful still, as the mission would not be over until they could learn everything and destroy the scrolls that incriminated them.

Naruto was helping them proceed faster as he had found a second affinity to match his Futon affinity. He was quickly becoming a master at fuinjutsu, only being limited by the texts he could get his hands on. It was not a surprise since he was not only the son Namikaze Minato, the world renowned fūinjutsu master but also Uzumaki Kushina who was the heir of a clan famous for its fūinjutsu.

Still Asuma watched the progress in mild shock as Naruto used the same method he did in the academy to gain literal years of experience in a very short time. With an average chakra capacity, Asuma could not use even one shadow clone without risking chakra exhaustion. He told his team that it would be the first jutsu they learned after increasing their chakra capacities.

With 100 clones, he quickly became a level 7 seal master and was able to understand the ROOT seal they had stolen as well. He was able to modify the seal so that it only paralyzed the vocal chords if trying to talk about the tail absorption. The more important part of the seal prevented mind jutsu like used by the Yamanaka clan and the seal was tied to the life force of the person who had the seal

Naruto also added some extra functions into their version of the seal. First, it was invisible unless the person who had it pumped chakra into it. When Iruka and Anko had started helping him, they had discovered some hidden seals on him. He hadn't been told at the time what they did but the Hokage had been livid and it had hurt to have them removed. Because of that Naruto also made it so no other seal could be placed on them without them allowing it.

Once he had completed the modifications, Naruto placed the modified seal on their tongues in a similar manner to the ROOT agents. He used a clone to apply it to himself. His final modification had brought Hinata to tears. Once they were done, she wanted a version to be put on her sister. Saving her sister from the cage bird seal had been one of the reasons she still tried to make her father think that she might not be the stronger of the two sisters.

Hinata had wicked plans for her father and the clan council once her sister was safe from them. Naruto would need to be a level 9 or even level 10 seal master to break the cage bird seal. Something he promised he would do. Hinata did not care if breaking it caused a civil war within the Hyuga clan that killed off the entire main branch as long as her sister was safe and the seal was gone forever. Hinata's thanks was very satisfying and kept Asuma awake that night.

Once their mental security was established they focused on the main goal. After looking through the four copies they were confident they had gotten all the information and there was a lot of it. Asuma had been right, the Yondaime Hokage had improved on the seal. What they discovered beyond that was truly amazing.

First, more was known about the bijuu than even Asuma had been aware. It was known that the bijuu had been created when the Sage of Six Paths separated the 10 tailed beast into 9 separate intelligent creatures. What was not known was that the way the six paths had done it was by continually breaking the monster's power in half. He broke the 10 tails' power in half and one half became the 9 tailed Kyuubi no Yoko. He broke the remaining half in half again. Half became the 8 tailed Hachibi. He continued this 7 more times. Half of his last break became the Ichibi and the other half was the source of the Uzumaki Clan's large chakra reserves and why they were the only Clan than could hold the Kyuubi.

The Sage of Six Paths had a student who was not his son and since he had already given so much power to his two sons, he gifted the last bit of the bijuu chakra to his student, the first Uzumaki. The group was amazed by this knowledge. The Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama, knew this and that knowledge was the basis of the close relationship he created between Konohagakure and Uzushiogakure.

They then learned that the power of the bijuu is in their tails. But the power was not split equally across the tails. Instead power in the tails on the bijuu followed the same pattern with each of tail doubling the power of the one beneath it.

So the Nibi had two tails, each as powerful as the Ichibi's one. The Sanbi had the equivalent of Nibi's power in its first two tails and a third tail that was twice as powerful as the first two combined. The Yonbi has three tails equivalent in power to the Sanbi and a fourth tail twice as powerful as the other tails combined.

The pattern continued all the way to the Kyuubi whose ninth tail was twice as powerful as its other 8 tales combined and had a total power 256 times that of the one tail. Since the one tail was thought to have four times the raw power of a Kage it was clear why the Kyuubi was able to change landscapes with one swipe of its tails.

The experiment that increased Kisame's chakra reserves by the equivalent of 4 Kages, transferred the power in the Sanbi's first tale to the future missing nin. Despite the power increase, the experiment was actually a failure as the goal had been to transfer all of the Sanbi's tails to the swordsman. It was no surprise that Naruto's father had figured out the problem and solved it.

The key was chakra natures. Each of the tailed beast didn't just have power, they had chakra natures. In truth, it was their tails that had chakra natures. Their most powerful tail's nature was the primary for the beast and each subsequent tail followed the cycle of strength and weakness. The Sanbi was a water nature type which meant its third and most powerful tail had a water affinity. Following the cycle its second tail had a fire affinity and its first tail had a wind affinity.

The seal that was used in Kiri did not account for the Sanbi's chakra nature or the nature of Kisame. The Yondaime did and developed a seal that outstripped Asuma's wildest expectations. The ability to use the Kyuubi plus his own wind affinity meant that Asuma would be able to get 8 tails worth of power added to his chakra reserves. Thinking about it made him realize why both the Yondaime and his father both refused to use it. Just knowledge of the seal would likely lead to war. But he wanted the power for himself and his students.

The Kyuubi had a fire nature so its 9 tails' affinities went in order Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning and Earth. With multiple tails having the same affinity, the Yondaime had described the affinities of the lower numbered tails as stage 1 and the higher tails as stage 2. A person could achieve the power of all the tails up to the one that matched their own affinity in either stage 1 or stage 2. Stage 2 being more powerful but risked mutations. Fortunately, the seal holding the Kyuubi was designed to filter the damaging chakra from the tailed beast within Naruto and allowed for the second stage absorption without risking mutations.

Asuma's wind affinity would grant him a massive eight tale power boost. Hinata had a water nature affinity and so there was no second stage for her using the Kyuubi. The first stage would still grant her five tails worth of power to her chakra reserves. Sakura had an earth nature affinity and so the second stage absorption would give her 6 tails worth of chakra added to her reserves. The notion that as a civilian she would have more chakra than the heir to the Hyuga clan was quite heady for Sakura. Hinata, who believed her clan needed a little humility, loved it.

Naruto, like Asuma, had a wind nature. But he was also the container and had a powerful seal designed by his father with the knowledge of the absorption seal included. In the notes left by the Yondaime, it was made clear that Naruto could absorb all nine tails. Doing so would be the equivalent of killing the container and cause the Kyuubi to need to reform.

A process that would take 36 years due to how powerful the Kyuubi was and how much chakra it needed to gather to reform. It might take longer as the beast would be reforming within the seal. And not even the Yondaime knew what would happen if Naruto died while the Kyuubi was still reforming.

Their time in the training grounds they had adopted as their own, was not just spent in preparation for acquiring a chakra demon's worth of power. Sarutobi Asuma was serious about the type of team he wanted to build and had been equally serious about the potential of the genin he had argued to train. So, at the same time that they studied and prepared to use the seal, they still maintained a full training schedule.

Naruto had revealed to Asuma the extents Anko and Iruka had gone to make him a proper shinobi. The two senseis had even come after that admission and briefed Asuma on Naruto's true ability. If not for the need for absolute security, Asuma would have brought the two in on the grander plan but he was not willing to risk such things until he had the power he had been seeking, at the very least.

Because of Naruto's advanced skill and the two kunoichi's devotion to him, it was in short order that Naruto became somewhat of an assistant sensei to Asuma. The two males focusing on increasing the skill of the two girls as much as possible. Mostly the training had to do with advanced chakra control exercises in preparation for the large influx of chakra they would be getting.

Chakra control was not the only thing though. Chakra affinities had been the first thing Asuma had checked and then he had gathered as many jutsu scrolls as he could get. Hinata had a primary water affinity with a secondary lightning affinity. Sakura had a primary earth affinity with a secondary water affinity. Naruto had a secondary fire affinity to go along with his wind affinity.

For Hinata, Asuma provided a C-rank lightning jutsu for her to master. Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang created a lightning hound. The typical use was to use it in a similar way to the use of a ninken except when the lightning hound caught its target, they would disperse, electrocuting the victim. Asuma wanted her to master the jutsu and then integrate them with her gentle fist fighting style. His goal for her was to turn her taijutsu into a medium range jutsu where she would be able to attack tenketsu points, from a distance. To even attempt it, Hinata would have to master the Jutsu to a seal-less level.

For Sakura, Asuma provided her with medical chakra techniques. She already had near perfect chakra control and if she could maintain that after the chakra absorption, the young girl would be a force. He had some earth style jutsu scrolls for her but would not give them to her till after because her reserves were truly very small. He did encourage her to use her mind as she learned. He knew that med-nin had used their skills in offensive ways in the past and wanted her to think of ways to use the techniques he gave her in that way as well.

With Naruto, Asuma became the student in some ways. Naruto was in possession of more wind jutsu scrolls than Asuma knew. Naruto shared them with his sensei and the older man's skill and experience allowed him to learn some of the techniques that Naruto had not been able to. It was once again made clear to Naruto that massive chakra reserves did not and would not make him all powerful or unbeatable.

Asuma was able to teach Naruto still. Naruto had a jutsu scroll that described infusing weapons with wind natured chakra but Asuma could teach him it. As thanks for giving the Jonin-sensei access to the wind jutsu scroll library he had, Asuma bought Naruto a pair of guard-less shinobito swords. They were 24 inches long with a 17 inch blade. They were made completely of chakra metal and Asuma told his student that he planned to teach the young blonde a style that combined his close quarter style with a classic sword style like the one his mother used.

Asuma provided them all with chakra controlled training weights as well. He wanted them to imitate Tsunade of the Sanin's chakra channeling technique to increase their strength. The Sanin had to use a seal to amass the chakra necessary to do it but with the reserve levels they were about to have they could do whenever they liked. The key was to have extremely good chakra control.

It went without saying that no team worked as hard as Team 7 and it was obvious. The genin that graduated the academy that year were a cut above. They moved through the village with the grace and confidence of experienced shinobi. With a Jonin sensei, the entire group had become even more deadly and they looked it. Team 7 was a cut above even that. If it wasn't for the recognizability of the Uzumaki and Hyuga, most people would think they were Jonin shinobi themselves.

Once it was noticed, most of the remaining Jonin instructors took it as a challenge and everyone's training became more intense. One particular Jonin instructor, known to wear green spandex and make awkward declarations, especially, took that challenge to heart. He had originally allowed his students to decide whether to go through his intense taijutsu training but no longer gave them a choice. Tenten and Neji were just glad he didn't insist on the spandex or "youth" genjutsu.

… **Mission Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked over at Team 7 standing before him. They were the undisputed best team of the graduating class. In truth, they were probably the best team produced by the academy since the last shinobi war. Once again, his pride in his son threatened to overwhelm him as he watched the man request a mission for his team outside the walls of the village.

All missions outside the village were at least C class and even though Team 7 had already completed four C-rank missions, it was a milestone for a genin team when it was time to leave the village for the first time. He could see the excitement radiating from all of them, his son included. Naruto, especially, seemed ready to burst out of his own skin if the small twitches were as the Hokage suspected.

It wasn't very noticeable as Naruto had calmed a lot since his days as a six year old declaring to all who would listen that he would be the next Hokage. But Hiruzen had been watching the boy his whole life, was a shinobi of the highest caliber and had children and grand-children. The eagerness in the three genin and even their own Jonin instructor could not be masked.

They had done the security mission twice more after the first before allowing the other genin teams a go at it and had done a mission guarding a visiting merchant. In addition, they had a healthy number of D rank missions under their belt including doing the Tora the Cat mission four times. Now Asuma had declared them ready for a mission outside the walls of the village.

The Hokage smiled at them. He assumed the excitement was due to his agreement to let them go. He nodded in approval at Iruka who was also looking at his favorite former students with pride and happiness. "Thank you, jiji." Naruto said and Hiruzen's joy grew even greater. It was only recently after almost a year that Naruto had started to call him jiji again. He was still angry at himself for how much he had failed the boy but was glad that he had finally been forgiven. The months of being called Hokage-sama had torn at his heart.

Iruka made a motion and a side door opened. The smell of alcohol reached the gathered shinobi before the man crossed the threshold. When the person did, Iruka introduced the disheveled, sake soaked man as Tazuna. The man was a master bridge builder from the land of waves. He had contracted the shinobi to not only protect him on his way back to his home but to stay and act as guards during the completion of the construction of the bridge he was building.

All four members of Team 7 had narrowed eyes as they were briefed on the mission. Things didn't add up. Why did he need protection going home but not coming? Why did the bridge need a guard now? None of the four commented as it was a mission that took them out of the village for a month or longer fit perfectly into their needs so they accepted it.

Tazuna was not as drunk as he appeared. Most of the Sake was on him and not in him. He prayed his plan would work. He could not afford the A rank that his true circumstance would require but he had payed extra for the most skilled shinobi available for a C rank. He had come into the office scared when he had been told he was to be given a genin team but looking at the team gave him hope that his plan might work. Asuma told him that they would leave the following morning at 9 before the group separated.


	10. Team 7 Passes the Genin Test

… **Naruto's Apartment, Konohagakure**

Naruto and his two girlfriends arrived back at his apartment. He actually owned the entire building. The complex was purchased on his behalf by Anko. He received a discount due to the unreasonable rent he had been charged as well as another one because of the years of undone repairs. The run down nature of the building also affected the property value and in the end he got the 15 unit building for a very reasonable amount. The entire place was undergoing construction. He was still living in his third floor apartment but the three apartments on the fifth floor were being combined into one, luxury apartment for him.

Neither the ,.Namikaze nor the Uzumaki had a clan compound in Konoha as his father had been a "clanless orphan" like himself and members of the Uzumaki had lived with the Senju clan when staying in the village. Everyone who knew about his heritage agreed that he should not announce it till he was a Chunin. With his strength and power, he was showing, the plan was for him to make a statement at his Chunin exams that would warn off most of Namikaze Minato's enemies.

He planned to use his apartment complex as the Uzumaki clan compound, eventually, since it would only be a satellite for the rebuilt Uzushiogakure. Once he achieved clan status for the Namikaze, that would be in the clan district. Money was not an issue as even though he could not publicly claim his two families, he was given access to the fortunes. The Uzumaki fortune was larger than the Hyuga as it represented all of the cash and valuables that were still in the Konoha banks.

For those who remembered, the Uzumaki were rumored to only keep a fraction of their true wealth in the bank and the remainder was considered the greatest lost treasure in the history of the elemental nations. Capturing the "true" Uzumaki treasure had been part of why three separate villages had been convinced to band together to attack them.

The Namikaze accounts were not as large but very respectable for the efforts of one orphan who had made a name for himself. His apartment would likely be ready by the time he returned from this mission and that was also when he intended to ask Sakura and Hinata to officially move in with him. They did not officially live together as Sakura was still listed as living with her civilian parents and Hinata was under orders by her father to remain living at the Hyuga compound.

But everyone knew where the girls spent most nights. Hyuga Hiashi, Hinata's father, had tried to lock his daughter in her room but trying to lock away a shinobi with a door lock, especially one specializing in stealth and infiltration, was ridiculous. As registered shinobi, all three were legally adults and not even the elders of the Hyuga clan wanted to suggest that a shinobi of the leaf was still child enough to require parental approval around their movements or sleeping arrangements.

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata were all unaware of what was brewing around them. The three were on the verge of passing the "secret" Genin test their sensei had challenged them with. The promise of power was something no true shinobi would ever deny themselves and all three understood that with that power, they would be practically free from the machinations of anyone they did not wish to have say in their lives. The protective seal that Naruto had placed on them had done half the work already.

The three were excited to begin the mission that would begin the final phase of their mission. With too much energy to sleep the three turned toward each other. The sex was wild and passionate and all three of them had their moment to have their bodies worshipped by their two lovers. Three young people at the peak of physical fitness and full of unparalleled excitement could go for a long time and it was after four hours of wild unbridled sex and near midnight when they collapsed and fell asleep. Sore and happy.

… **Naruto's Mindscape**

The Kyuubi no Yoko was panicking. She would never publicly admit to that but it was still true. When the kit's new sensei had first proposed the idea of stealing her chakra tails, she had not been happy but she had not given it much thought. But as the group had learned more of the process, the Kyuubi's unease had just grown and grown until she was in her current panicked state.

The Kyuubi was much more knowledgeable about chakra than the people discussing stealing her power and what she knew was that "killing" her by absorbing all her tails would not kill the beast known as the Kyuubi no Yoko but it would kill her identity. The chakra would eventually reform and the mass would awaken an intelligence, but it would not be hers. It would be like her child; having her memories but, would not be her. If the kit absorbed all 9 of her tails, the awareness and intelligence of the creature that had named herself Karumi, would die.

She knew she could not convince them not to go forward with their plan to steal her power for themselves but she needed to convince her jailor to take 8 tails of her power and not all 9. She knew that all the worse things in her container's life had been because of her. From the loss of his parents to the treatment he had received from his village up until recently. There was a time when he had been so desperate for companionship that she would have gotten him to agree to anything, but the arrival of Mitarashi Anko in his life had solved that problem and he was much more intelligent and cynical.

She had supported the changes as she much preferred her container be strong and powerful but now her pride was in conflict with her continued survival. She had been thinking long and hard about how to convince him to not destroy her and she was finally able to overcome her own pride and offer her greatest treasure and secret. She knew they would be happy about it as she had stubbornly hidden them away but she was not pleased with the position she had been forced into.

Karumi's attention was drawn back to her container's activities. For all her frustrations, she certainly enjoyed watching him mating with his life partners. She scowled at the seal. A small alteration would allow her to experience it instead of just being able to view it. Perhaps if she was lucky she would get that alteration as part of the deal she would make.

Eventually the three lovers finished with each other. It had been a particularly active night, likely due to the excitement of what they planned to do while on this trip. The three fell asleep wrapped together. Karumi had very little ability from behind the seal but desperation was a huge motivator and she was able to draw Naruto into his mindscape. Karumi waited for the boy to appear in the room holding her cage.

Naruto at first thought he was dreaming. It looked like he was in a section of a castle. A hallway of some sort. Flat walls with columns ever 10 feet, arched ceiling and the floor had large polished stone tiles. The walls were amazing as they were covered with a beautiful mural. Naruto felt closeness to the painting but could not tell, exactly, what it was. Focusing on sections gave him the feeling of Hinata or Sakura or Iruka Sensei and Hokage-jiji but he could not really identify the shapes.

He walked down the hall, wondering where it led. He did notice that in some places, the hall would seem to turn to a sewer with leaky pipes and then back to the nice hallway. Eventually the hallway ended in a large room. It was odd he hadn't seen the opening coming. One step he was in the hallway and the next he was in a large ballroom with a giant cage at one end. He started to get an inkling about where he was as he approached the cage.

Karumi's fox nature and demon nature pushed her to take a swipe at the boy looking curiously at the bars but her survival instincts won out. A little. " **So my jailor has finally decided to visit me on the eve of my death."** The giant fox rumbled.

Naruto understood where he was but not how he got there or why. He had never considered how the "demon fox" lived inside of him but a giant cage had not even been a consideration. Looking up at the large glowing eyes, he guessed that the seal was on his stomach but the demon was trapped in his consciousness. He saw a tag labeled seal stuck to the bars and wondered if it seemed so simple because of the simplicity of his mind at the time of the sealing.

He had not responded to the creature that was obviously the Kyuubi or even acknowledged it. He was pretty sure that it had drawn him in there somehow and so did not believe the creature's implication that he had come to visit. Instead he focused his mind to take control of his environment. It was an experiment and then a confirmation that he held all the power within his own mind. He conjured a comfortable seat for himself. Happy that he was right he smirked and sat down facing the bars, then he leaned back and said "What do you want?"

The reputation of foxes being tricksters and pranksters originated with Karumi so she easily recognized the smirk as the boy's understanding that he had all the power. She had entertained the idea of trying to seduce him but she had witnessed his indomitable will and new his commitment to his two girlfriends. Since she was fighting for her survival, she could not take risks that would make her more hated than she already was.

Still, since trying to intimidate him would obviously not work, and seduction was out, it probably would help her to let some of her desperation show. Plus, the surprise might throw him off. She shifted into her human form and walked up to the bars and said, "If you take all my tails, you'll kill me."

Naruto was shocked to see the massive nine tailed beast change forms and become a girl. She was about his age and very cute crossing into beautiful. Much like Hinata she had a look that made you want to take care of her. She wore a loose kimono that gave teasing glimpses of her body but looked as if the glimpses were accidental due to her distress. But Naruto was a prankster and he also saw that this person in front of him was a trickster and a much more malicious one than he had ever been, so he kept his guard up.

Her words did succeed, however, at adding to his shock and confusion about the odd situation he was in and he closed his eyes and took a few breaths. He refused to be tricked by the demon in front of him. It didn't matter the shape; the creature had tried to ruin his life and had stolen his mother and father from him. Killing the Kyuubi no Yoko seemed like a service he had no problem providing the world. He calmed and looked at her with a smile.

He was surprised again that when he re-opened his eyes, she looked resigned. As if she had already given up on her plan before ever really trying. "Will you at least listen" the Kyuubi spoke. Naruto noticed that the demonic resonance had left her voice. He was weary of the being in front of him and the change but figured he would listen to what she had to say. She collapsed to the floor of the cage, uncaring about how her body was positioned and he got a clear view between her legs to her bald sex, but this time he believed his view was truly accidental.

After releasing a heavy breath, she told him that if he did what he planned, she would die but the Kyuubi no Yoko would not. That once the chakra recombined a new intelligence would be born. It would have all the memories but be new. She admitted that it had happened to her once and that her original form was male. "This is only my second iteration and I have no desire to be reborn again."

Naruto understood the desperation he was sensing from the creature now. According to her, the bijuu were indestructible but could still die and it was clear the one in front of him did not want to die. Over what seemed like hours he got a rare history lesson on the life and times of the most powerful of the tailed beasts. When it got to the point where she told him that she had not attacked Konoha under her own desire, but rather because of an Uchiha, he was struggling to decide whether to believe her or not.

"You have done something that no one has ever been able to do to me" the sneaky looking girl said with a touch of respect, "You have made me afraid and desperate and I know that I don't have enough time to properly trick or manipulate you into doing what I want." Naruto looked at the girl. She didn't seem sad, it was more like someone who just lost a hand of poker.

She turned to him and her trickster smile was back. As if he had not already been hit a lot of information. "Many years ago, when I was still Kurama, I took a human form and impregnated a lot of women." She smiled lecherously at Naruto. "The product of the nine tails and humans was the Kitsunes, half human half fox demon, with human faces and bodies, but fox ears and tails. Since I was just a chakra construct, all the Kitsunes were female like their mothers."

Karumi explained the Kitsunes had their father's penchant for trickery and had the power to shape shift to full foxes and acquire multiple tails. They were exceptionally strong and flexible and also each had a singular chakra based power that was dependent on who their mother was. Kurama soon discovered that his daughters were being hunted. Either to be made into sexual play things, to kill or for some other unsavory reason. So, he gathered them all together and tricked them into moving to a summoning plane and then hiding the summoning contract as he did not think any human was worthy of his daughters' contract.

Karumi told Naruto that, if it had been her, she would not have done the same but had decided to keep the Kitsune contract hidden as a matter of pride. The Kitsunes and their summoning contract had become legendary in the elemental nations and she had been pleased by how that had added to her own reputation. Now, though, her survival was worth more than her pride.

Naruto's interest was definitely peaked. He was aware that Karumi could be lying but all he would lose is the ninth tail worth of chakra. It was a lot but in the long run he would still have so much more chakra than the rest of the world. Also, chakra capacity did not mean skill. With all their chakra, the bijuu had all been captured and sealed.

He was sure that with 8 tails worth of chakra capacity plus the skills and jutsu he knew and would learn, he would be able to defeat Karumi if it came to it even less the last tail. On the other hand, signing the Kitsune contract would fit his sensei's, and now his, dream for power. His other dream to rebuild Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki clan and establish the Namikaze clan would also be advanced by the prestige such an acquisition would bring to him personally and his families.

Eventually, Naruto agreed to her offer and promised to not take all her tails in exchange for the location of the kitsune contract and since Karumi knew that Naruto's word was absolute she gave him the special summoning seal that would pull the Kitsune summoning contract from where she had hidden it.

Before he left she asked if he would tear the corner of the seal so she could experience his love making and not just be forced to watch. Her request came with a seductive purr and the accidental view of her charms became purposefully when she rose to her knees with her knees spread and her kimono open to give a full view of her large breast. Naruto admitted that the clear fluid trailing down her thigh was a nice touch and ripped the corner of the seal before leaving his mindscape.

… **Naruto's Apartment, Konohagakure**

Naruto woke up with a smile that seemed eerily fox like. He woke his two lovers with a kiss. It was still early and Naruto was in an exceptionally good mood. Hinata moaned when Naruto's lips returned to her and traveled over her slightly sore body. Waking up to her master in a frisky mood was always good. After the previous night, most men would not be able to go again, but Naruto's famous stamina had uses other than ninjutsu.

Hinata moaned as his mouth traveled over her warm skin and she shivered in pleasure when his mouth left her chest and he ordered Sakura to help him. The purple haired kunoichi knew Sakura had been awake and that the pinkette was only waiting for her master to order her to move. Both her and her female lover were always the most docile and submissive the morning after passionate love making.

The pale eyed princess moaned when Naruto's lips reached her core and Sakura's lips connected with her own. The previous night, Hinata and Sakura had used their own mouths to please their master in celebration for completing the preparation for the seal that would make them ridiculously powerful and the awarding of a mission that would let them implement it.

As Naruto's mouth and tongue went to work on her most intimate spot and Sakura covered her sensitive nipple in the same way she arched her back as pleasure started to course through her body. In these moments Hinata thanked Kami for sending Anko to help her achieve all of her dreams and more. She had loved Naruto for as long as she could remember and Anko had helped her get him. "And so much more" she thought as Sakura's hand danced across her stomach.

An hour later, after Sakura had her turn under the talented tongues and fingers of both Hinata and Naruto, the group got ready for their mission. Naruto decided to keep his conversation with Karumi to himself. It required some discussion and needed their sensei's input. That meant they would not be able to discuss it until they made camp that night and the client was asleep. Telling his girls that he had something important to discuss and then making them wait the entire day was not practical and a little cruel, so he held his tongue.

… **Main Gates, Konohagakure no Sato**

Tazuna realized he might have been more drunk than he thought when he met the team of shinobi the day before. He remembered that they had seemed more than capable and that he might have found a real bargain, but he must have been truly drunk to miss how sexy the two kunoichi were. He was pretty sure they were wearing the same outfits from the day before at least outfits of the same style and color.

His eyes kept drifting from the beautifully displayed, large chest of the purple haired one, with hard nipples deforming her top, to the plump mound between her legs wrapped in material that left almost nothing to the imagination. Tazuna was sure he could identify distinct parts of the girl's anatomy pressed into the material of her shorts and when he remembered to pull his eyes away and met the girl's pupil-less pale eyes, he was met with a smirk and wink instead of the expected admonishment.

Turning to the pink haired beauty he was met with the same alluring site. Her breasts were much smaller but her outfit highlighted her body in the best way. Her leotard did less to hide her secrets than the other girl's shorts. He saw the same humor dancing in her eyes when he was caught staring and the pink haired girl added the licking of her lips to her wink. Tazuna was not sure his heart would survive the journey.

With everyone present, Asuma introduced himself formally as well as each of the members of his Genin team. Tazuna blinked as he had not even noticed the boy named Naruto as he had been so caught up lusting after the two girls, Hinata and Sakura. He tried to reprimand himself about looking at girls young enough to be his granddaughter, but they spent the first half day of the journey teasing and flirting with him and he could not stop himself lusting after them.

… **Camp, 20 miles from Konohagakure**

It was time. At the moment of success was where mistakes could be made and so Team 7 was applying a great deal of mental effort to remain calm, measured and focused as they met to prepare for the beginning of the greatest achievement of their lives.

They had drugged Tazuna and the man was currently in dream land probably dreaming about doing nasty things to Hinata and Sakura. Both girls surprised themselves at how much the flustered civilian's lustful looks appealed to them. He was old, slim and out of shape, but his roaming, wide eyes and blushes were cute to the two kunoichi.

For the culmination of their project, Hinata would be going first as she would use up the least of the Kyuubi's tails. According to the notes it would take the Kyuubi 4 days to recover his first 5 tails after the ritual. Sakura would go then and it would take 8 days to recover the six tails that would go to her. Asuma would be next and they would have to wait 32 days to do Naruto after Asuma completed the ritual.

Hinata and Naruto got naked and Naruto started to apply the seal to her under the watchful eyes of both Asuma and Sakura. Naruto was the seal master of the group, but they had all memorized this particular seal pattern and could all apply it perfectly. Asuma had insisted. The seal covered Hinata's chest and stomach. She had to stay perfectly still because any jiggling of her huge tits would throw off the lines. Sakura had found that hilarious the first time she heard it.

Naruto finished telling them about his meeting with Karumi while he worked. He had started the tale as soon as Tazuna was unconscious and held nothing back. Neither girl questioned why he waited to tell them. They belonged to him. But, more importantly, his actions made sense from an operational security stand point. Information that had to be spoken out loud should be done once, if possible.

They all agreed that the benefits far outweighed the risks. They already knew that the Kyuubi could not be completely destroyed and killing her current personality was not a victory in any way. In the worst-case scenario, Naruto would lose out on the final tail worth of power, but having all the chakra of the 8 tails was still monstrous.

After they completed the ritual on Hinata they would perform the summoning and verify the validity of it. Naruto would sign first, but not until after he did the absorption ritual. With that decided it was time. All of their eyes had become a little mad in the excitement as they struggled to reign themselves in. Taking a breath Naruto intoned "Fuin"

The seal on his stomach and the seal painted on Hinata both started to glow at the same time. Then Naruto's eyes started to glow red and a ghostly image of the Kyuubi superimposed itself over Naruto's body. In the notes for when this was done with Kisame, the Sanbi had seemed to be struggling against the seal. Asuma considered it a good sign and validation of Naruto's dealings with the Kyuubi that the ghostly creature was calm.

Then Naruto's seal started to glow red, but a blue beam shot out and connected to Hinata's seal. Asuma's sharp eyes noticed that a small bit of red was mixed in. Considering Kisame's version had been fully mixed red and blue, he figured that it was OK. Also, she did not seem to be in any pain at all. Something else that Kisame had experienced.

After 5 minutes, the ghostly Kyuubi's first tail vanished. 10 minutes later, the second went. 20 minutes after that, the third. In the end it took over two and a half hours, but after the last tail vanished, the energy transfer stopped, Naruto's seal returned to normal, then vanished and Hinata's seal turned to ash and floated away.

They were quiet for a few moments and then Hinata said "Oh Kami!" Her words drew everyone's attention. She didn't sound hurt but they were still worried. Due to the circumstance, it made sense for Hinata to go first but neither Asuma nor Naruto had been pleased with that fact.

Hinata's eyes glowed a soft purple and then she smiled. "I think it worked" she said. She stood up with ease and despite still being naked moved her body to check herself. Asuma was not immune to her gorgeous body but he had more to focus on at the moment. Hinata was running through the protocol they had decided on.

She announced that she had not lost any flexibility. Finally, after waiting an hour, it was time. She performed her family's dōjutsu and her eyes glowed purple again and stayed that way. She was in the middle of telling them that she believed that her range had been extended and that she no longer had a blind spot when she noticed that they were all looking at her in shock. When she stopped talking, Asuma was the first to recover from his surprise. He quickly grabbed a mirror from one of the pouches he carried and held it up to her.

She gasped. Her eyes no longer had the characteristic bulging vein, instead they just had a soft glow to them (like Draenei from WOW). She looked at herself for a long moment and then went back to going through her check of the jutsu, but carried a self-satisfied smile. The next thing she did was go through the academy three jutsu. The kawarimi went fine. The henge produced a true transformation, more perfect, even, than when Naruto did it.

The clone jutsu failed in exactly the same way it used to fail for Naruto. A giggle escaped Naruto at the sickly looking naked Hinata clone. She pouted at him and Naruto kissed the clone on the cheek before it faded with a shy smile. Hinata went through some more of her jutsu and it was as they suspected. She had lost a great deal of her chakra control, but otherwise was one ridiculously powerful kunoichi.

Then Hinata made a familiar hand seal and called out "shadow clone jutsu". The one tail of the Ichibi had about as much chakra as 4 kages. And a kage was the pinnacle of power in the elemental nature. To achieve the chakra reserves of a kage took a combination of ninjutsu skill, chakra control and genetics. Hinata now had the equivalent of 64 kages worth of chakra at her disposal. When the smoke cleared, the forest was full of Hinata's.

With the seal a success, Asuma finally cracked with the view of a forest full of naked Hinata's. His nose did not bleed but both Sakura and Hinata noticed that there was a definite firmness in their sensei's pants. They caught each other's eyes and giggled. The clones started to group themselves in pairs of 10 and reporting to Hinata to be dispelled. A redressed Hinata counted 1000 clones.

It was 10 at night and Asuma ordered Hinata to remake the 1000 clones. She did. Then she made 1000 more. She didn't feel winded at all. 1000 was her limit at one time but it was unclear how many she could make total and now wasn't the time to find out. The 2000 clones organized themselves into groups of ten and vanished into the surrounding forest to start retraining Hinata's chakra control. The method was exactly how Naruto had done it with the leaf sticking exercise and tiered dispelling.

An excited group went to sleep. The three Genin feeling like they had passed their true Genin test.

… **On the Road to the Land of Waves**

Tazuna knew something was up. First, he didn't remember drinking that much the night before and yet he woke up with a hangover and no memory of what happened. That was something that never happened to him. He was no stranger to drink but he portrayed himself as much more of a drunk than he actually was. He was pretty sure his shinobi guards had drugged him. He wanted to know why but could not find a way to enquire without indicting himself.

He supposed he should not worry about it as they had not killed him. Killing him for Gato's award was his major concern and since he woke up alive, he supposed that whatever happened was not something to worry about. The girls were still flirting with him shamelessly and he had no problem enjoying it.

"So Tazuna-san, does Nami no Kuni not have a shinobi village?" Sakura asked. He turned to the sexy teenager and explained to her that the Land of Waves was a very small country and that the entire place was only about twice the size of Konoha. Then he surprised the group by announcing that, they used to have shinobi and even a Daimyo and samurai.

Then the surprise became shock. "Yes, Nami no Kuni (Wave), Uzu no Kuni (Whirlpool) and Umi no Kuni (Seas), used to be one nation. Then the Daimyo died with no heir and the Land of Sea broke away to try and join Mizu no Kuni (Water). The Nami and Uzu actually did pretty well without Umi due to the power of the shinobi village Uzushiogakure." The four shinobi were silent as they listened and Naruto's eyes were wide.

Tazuna shook his head. "Then the second shinobi war started and with no Daimyo and no actual shinobi village of our own, we broke the bond with Uzu, thinking we could not aid them and it made no sense for them to try to protect us when he held little strategic value. Breaking away made the Land of Wave safe but also helped consolidate the Land of Whirlpool." Tazuna shook his head. "In the end, it helped neither of us."

Naruto had so many questions he wanted answered but before he could ask he noticed a puddle in the middle of the road.


	11. Wave Goodbye

… **On the Road to the Land of Waves**

Naruto did not even look over to his teammates. The coming ambush was so basic and pathetic that he had absolute confidence that his team and sensei had already seen it. In fact, this type of scenario was similar to what was taught in the academy to explain what an ambush was. He prepared to guard the bridge builder as that was the responsibility of his position in the formation. He grumbled inside his mind that the fools had not set up the ambush an hour earlier or an hour later when he would have rotated to one of the counter attack positions.

Hinata currently had 2000 clones practicing chakra control in the woods on either side of the road they were walking along. It was just past 10 in the morning and she had just completed the phased dispelling of them and creation of two new sets of 1000, 20 minutes previously and so her chakra control was back to 75% of her pre-ritual level.

Seeing the coming ambush, she activated her byakugan and discovered another advantage of her increased chakra on her dōjutsu. Her eyes had always been able to identify the presence of a genjutsus but now she apparently could see right through them as if they were not there. She could also apparently see jutsu.

To her eyes there were two shinobi using what looked like an earth jutsu if she was interpreting the brown glow correctly. The glow of the genjutsu was the same dark pink she had been used to, as the dark pink glow was how her eyes normally told her there was a genjutsu present. She wondered if she could have her Byakugan active all the time without it putting a strain on her. Noting it for later consideration and experimentation, she prepared to break the ambush.

Sakura was very intelligent. In fact, it was likely that she was as intelligent as any member of the Nara clan. As a civilian in the shinobi program her mind had been her greatest asset along with her will and desire to be a kunoichi. She had lost her way for a couple years as hormones and pressure from her family had caused her to chase Sasuke, but over the last year she had found her lost dream. That intelligence was as helpful as Hinata's eyes as the puddle on a dry day with no recent rains, stood out like a beacon to her. The situation screamed genjutsu and the size of the puddle suggested multiple opponents. "Two, maybe three" she thought. She was ready

It went without saying that Asuma identified the coming ambush. But based on the pathetic nature of it and his confidence in his genin, he didn't bother to stop his fantasizing about what he would do with all the power he was about to receive. Chakra reserves did not translate directly to skill but it did set the limits on what a shinobi could do. Most forbidden jutsu were only forbidden because of the monstrous cost to chakra they required.

To pay that cost, evil shinobi like Orochimaru would steal it from his victims. Tsunade had a more morally acceptable method but her way required charging that could take months depending on the jutsu to be performed and because of that could only be used once before needing to be recharged again. By the time he returned to Konoha he would not have such limitations.

At some point, he intended to break into the land of wind, water and earth to steal their forbidden scrolls. Without the chakra limitations of other shinobi, he wanted to get for himself and his Genin the most powerful jutsus of their respective affinities. He looked up as the trap sprung.

The Demon Brothers, Gōzu and Meizu, were stupid. That did not mean that they had not earned their moniker. All the people they had killed or tortured would say that the two brothers had absolutely no care or compassion for any but each other. They loved blood and they loved to hear their victims scream. They were missing nin mostly because they did not like the limits the Mizukage had put on them.

The brothers were Chunin and had been for a few years. They rarely faced other shinobi and when they did it was usually with back up from their patron Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist, who was just as blood thirsty but was a Jōnin and an A-rank nin. Their mission had just been to scout and report back but when they saw that it was a Genin team with two very hot and sexily dressed kunoichi, they decided to take them down and take the girls for some "fun". They Attacked.

… **Team 7 vs. The Demon Brothers**

After the group walked past the "puddle", with Naruto keeping himself between Tazuna and it, the two brothers leapt from it aiming for Asuma. It was a logical choice of target since eliminating the Jōnin sensei first would make taking out the Genin that much easier. All four of the members of Team 7 tracked the trajectory of the two attackers, disappointed at how slow it was developing.

Their eyes widened when they noticed that the attackers were attached to each other by a dangerous looking chain. The chain was attached to clawed gauntlets that each guy wore. It was the dumbest thing they had ever seen. Just before they reached Asuma who looked pretty bored, a kunai hit one of the links with great force, carrying it and the attached brothers away from Asuma. The kunai buried itself and the captured chain into a tree.

Gōzu and Meizu tumbled on the ground but quickly righted themselves. They looked up to see Asuma leaning against a separate tree, the male Shinobi with two swords protecting Tazuna and the two kunoichi in taijutsu stances looking at them. The pink haired one was holding two kunai while the purple haired one was unarmed.

At first the brothers tried to free their chain from the tree by tugging on it, but it would not budge. They quickly removed the clawed gloves and rushed the two girls. "Your pussy will be riding my dick tonight." One of the two, Meizu, screamed as he reached Hinata. Unfortunately for him, Hinata had not used her new well of chakra in combat yet. He was going to die that day but it would not have been as gruesome, if Hinata had had a good grasp of how much power to use.

Her lightning coated fingers started touching his tenketsu points and it took three strikes for Hinata to notice that she was blowing holes into the missing nin's body. She intended to electrocute him through those points which would have been a painful way to die as threatening to rape her had painful consequences, but he didn't die in pain.

Meizu died in agony as quarter size holes of electricity blew through his body in a bloody mess, and the electricity behind it burned every one of his chakra points. If he had survived he would never been able to use jutsu again. Eventually death freed him from the pain and he collapsed with smoke wafting from his eyes, that had actually charred black.

Gōzu would have lost his mind over the death of his brother if he was not himself in the process of dying. They would exit the world opposite the way they entered it but ironically the same amount of time between them. Gōzu had been born one minute before his brother and bled out one minute after his brother.

The fight between Gōzu and Sakura was less flashy than Hinata's but was just as quick. Sakura did not appreciate the lustful looks in her opponent's eyes so instead of using the opening she had, after dodging Gōzu's punch, to end him quickly with a kunai to the heart or throat, she instead stabbed him in the femoral artery and sliced of his cock and balls when she completed her slice. The pain from his forced sex change blinded him to the scream of his brother and the fact that he was rapidly bleeding out. He died thinking only of his lost manhood.

… **Team 7 Wins**

… **Flawless Victory**

… **Fatality**

Tazuna had a plan. He would go to Konoha and hire a shinobi team. They would keep Gato away from him until he completed his bridge and that would allow his country to be free. When he spoke with the mission representative to rank his request he had purposely omitted some details to ensure that his mission be ranked as a C.

It was deceptive, but he did not have the money for the A rank the mission should have been and he figured that while it was happening, the shinobi would not think about it. The look he was getting told him he was wrong. Seeing what the two sexy girls, he had been unashamedly flirting with, did to the two attackers made him wonder if he had inadvertently signed his own death warrant, again. As Gato already wanted him dead.

Asuma's look was all it took for Tazuna to tell them everything. Gato was the owner of a well known shipping company. In fact, he was owner of the largest shipping company in the elemental nations. The man had decided that he wanted to be a Daimyo and chose the Land of Wave to be his country. He had entered the country with a lot of fanfare, promising money and jobs for all. It was not long before it became clear that he was just a thug with delusions of grandeur.

The man hired bandits with equal delusions who started calling themselves samurai and before long the atrocities started. Rapes, murders and more. "None of the other countries are willing to help because Gato makes sure his business seams legitimate. To outsiders, the Land of Wave just seems like a poor country with a bandit problem." Tazuna desperately explained.

Tazuna started building his bridge in secret. By connecting the Land of Wave to the land of fire, it would open up a land route to Wave. That would allow people to leave the island nation and allow for more commerce. Gato eventually found out but by then it was too late to easily destroy the large bridge without outside help which would bring him unwanted attention. "So instead. he planned to just have me killed and leave it unfinished."

By the end of his story, Tazuna was on his knees begging and in tears. Asuma pulled him to his feet and told the man that they would continue the mission. The man was relieved and happy for the generosity of the Shinobi, not knowing that Asuma was only agreeing because the mission gave him cover to achieve his dreams. Asuma didn't know that Naruto and his two girls would have helped anyway because of his newly discovered familial connection to the country.

With their course set Tazuna watched with a queasy stomach as the two attacker's heads were cut off and each head was stored separately in a scroll, their weapons and equipment stored in a third scroll and then their bodies were turned to ash with a fire jutsu. After finishing, Asuma handed the scrolls to Hinata and Sakura since it was their bounties to collect. Tazuna stomach was not allowed to get better as the two girls spent the rest of the day reading the "Demon Brothers" entry in their bingo book out loud. Other than the gruesome subject matter they sounded like his daughter and her friends when they were young girls.

… **Campsite. Night 5.**

Asuma was subtle in his appreciation of Sakura's naked form. Hinata's large breasts were spectacular but Asuma preferred the more athletic look that Sakura had. It was not true, but he believed that smaller breasts were more sensitive, and he allowed thoughts of caressing his Genin's body to dance through his mind. Her age did not bother him and actually added to his lust for her as he liked his lovers to be young. He knew to stay away from the sexy pinkette because she was absolutely taken and Asuma was a lot of things, but he was not a rapist.

He was not blatant in his admiration but his team was designed to notice small details and so when Sakura looked at him with a challenging smirk and tilted her body to show herself perfectly for him, he simply nodded in appreciation of her. He was not worried about Naruto as the boy did not waste time with things like jealousy and he knew that his girls would be admired by other men constantly, it was the nature of their lives as shinobi. More so when they would start doing seduction type missions.

Sakura stilled as Naruto started painting the seal on her. He smiled at her happy that she was constantly getting the attention she never thought she would. Before Anko's class she had hated her breasts, wishing for them to be larger, but Anko had helped her see that men loved women in all forms and that was confirmed by her relationship with Naruto. Hinata and her breasts had a body opposite of hers but both of them had received equal lust and passion from the blonde.

The whole thing was very sensual. When Hinata had done the ritual, they had been distracted by the fear of the unknown, but with confidence that it was all working properly, the sexiness of the whole thing was shining through. Naruto could smell the excitement of both his girls and by the flaring nostrils of his sensei, it was obvious he could as well.

The ritual went just as well the second time. Everything happened the same except for the ghostly fox losing a sixth tail and the whole thing taking almost five and a half hours. Sakura went through the same self checks as Hinata had. She remained naked and smiled at Asuma telling him it was not because she had forgotten as had been the case with Hinata. Asuma's roaming eyes were causing her to leak her arousal down her inner thigh.

Asuma, for his part decided that he needed to get a girlfriend. He needed someone he could relieve himself with especially if Sakura was going to take so much pleasure in teasing him. For now, he would just enjoy the view as he watched her lithe body as she twisted and turned. His eyes constantly returning to her shaven mound which he preferred to the landing strip Hinata had sported.

With her self check, and teasing, done and the hour past, Sakura accessed her chakra. She did not have a kekkei genkai like Hinata, so she did what she had been doing for the past month and fed chakra to her muscles. It was the first step to achieving Tsunade's super strength technique and was something all shinobi knew how to do. To achieve Tsunade's technique, however, you had to have precise control of it. Sakura had become better than most but was still working on getting it perfect.

But, when she pushed her Chakra into her muscles, something happened. She got bigger. She only grew about two inches leaving her at about 5'8", still shorter than Naruto's 5'10" and increasing the gap between her and Hinata's 5'3". But the height change wasn't the most amazing it was the definition that was added to her muscles. She did not become bulky, instead it was like a layer of fat had been burned off of her.

After a moment of silence, Sakura grabbed her breasts and said "Thank Kami! They didn't grow." Hearing Sakura, of all people, thanking Kami that her breasts stayed smaller caused Hinata to burst out laughing. That set Naruto off and finally Asuma started to chuckle. He looked the girl over. Her thighs and ass had become firmer and her stomach showed a bit more definition. It would no doubt make her a more capable kunoichi but he was personally disappointed as it made her look more mature.

They settled down and talked about Sakura's changes. She went through another self check and announced that she felt stronger. That was confirmed when she tested her strength with some large rocks. They would explore the limits at a later time. She also said she felt more animalistic. Asuma thought her description sounded a little like the Inuzuka clan but Naruto thought it was just an extension of her masochistic personality.

Finally, Sakura went through the academy three jutsus and had the same results as Hinata. When she did the shadow clone jutsu she made 2000 clones and was able to make another 2000 on the second try. Hinata expected to regain her previous level of chakra control by the following day and Sakura sent her 4000 clones to start and get her own back up to snuff.

Asuma was treated to the sound of wild love making for the rest of the night. He promised himself that he would find a woman before the three teens drove him insane. He fell asleep dreaming about the power that would be his next. In 8 days he would have chakra reserves 512 times the size of kage. He started to think of the jutsus he would keep permanently active around his body. He also suspected that the first use of chakra after the absorption ritual enhanced that aspect. Hinata's eyes got boosted as did Sakura's muscles. He started to debate what he should do first.

… **Shimi's Smile (Fishing Boat), Halfway to the Land of Wave**

The next morning they reached the shore that looked out unto the Kaizoku sea. The Land of Wave was separated from the main land by a narrow strip of turbulent water. Most of the commerce to the island nation was done from the east side of the island where the ports that Gato controlled, were located. They could see the partially completed bridge and Team 7 had been impressed at the stone structure.

They sailed close to the bridge as they crossed the choppy water and got a closer look at the stone construction. It was not the most massive bridge in the elemental nations, not even close, but it was obvious that it had been built with great care and skill. That so much of it had been built in secret was a testament to the old bridge builder's will and fortitude. Each member of Team 7 committed themselves to not allowing this bridge to go unfinished.

When they arrived on the sure of the Land of Wave, Tazuna thanked the fisherman who had taken them across. It had been done at great personal risk as everyone knew that helping Tazuna could mean your own death. Tazuna's own family was only safe because Gato wanted his daughter as a lover and still enjoyed trying to chase her. Tazuna was sure that eventually the cruel man's patience would wear out and he would take from his daughter what she refused to give willingly. He didn't know what to do about that situation as she stubbornly refused to leave.

… **Trail to Tazuna's Home, Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves)**

They were once again in a protective formation. This time Naruto was in the attack position and it was Hinata that was in the guard position. In a blink, Hinata threw a kunai into the woods and everyone took up a battle stance. "Someone was there and just performed a Kawarimi with a white bunny." Before she could elaborate Asuma yelled "Down". His team were already half way to the ground, Hinata dragging Tazuna with her.

A large sword that looked more like a ridiculously oversized butcher's knife spun like a buzz saw above their head before planting itself in a tree. A tall man with a bandaged face and no eyebrows, landed deftly on its handle. Team 7 were already back on their feet, with Hinata in front of Tazuna, who she had instructed to stay on his knees so she could cover all directions without worrying about hitting him.

Naruto drew his two swords again. He really loved his swords and would forever be thankful to his sensei for getting them for him. He carried them on his back, grip down and secured in chakra powered quick-draw sheaths. A quick swing behind his back and his hands came back armed. Similarly, Sakura had armed herself with two kunai again. She held two knives with 6 inch blades with a grip that showed she was prepared to throw them.

They had all assessed the new opponent and it was clear that if the Genin were forced to face him, they would have to use team work because he was way too skilled for them to fight on their own. Especially as Sakura still needed a day to regain her chakra control and would be limited to taijutsu. Super strength enhanced taijutsu, notwithstanding. The only question was whether Asuma would have them face the man or if he would face him himself.

They all knew who he was. Momochi Zabuza was a known associate of the "Demon Brothers". After killing the two missing nin they had suspected that they were part of a team led by the man in front of them. Zabuza was known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist and like the brothers he had earned his moniker. Unlike the brothers, he had earned it against many high ranked shinobi. The man was a true monster and known to be proud of it.

The sword that he was standing on was famous in its own right. Zabuza was a member of an elite group of swordsmen from Kirigakure known as the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist, each of whom carried a legendary and powerful sword. Zabuza stood on the Kubikiribōchō (Decapitating Carving Knife) and it had been used in that fashion often leaving a trail of headless victims in its wake. A sword that only took heads was interesting but would not be famous, the Kubikiribōchō was famous because it took the iron in blood and could repair itself.

Asuma stepped forward. Hinata had recovered her chakra control and had exceeded her previous levels through the constant use of shadow clones. But she had not yet started on any new jutsu. Still with Hinata's Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang, Sakura's enhanced strength and Naruto's wind aided dual sword technique, he was reasonably sure that his Genin could beat the guy.

But Asuma had a risk table that he had in his mind and this fight barely missed the cutoff. Most people would say that with the calculation so close he should let his students fight but he refused to compromise the calculation. The situation didn't meet the bar so they would not fight. However, they could still gain some experience.

"Look at the present I have been given." Zabuza spoke out loud interrupting the thoughts of the people before him. "A Leaf nin and his babies out for a stroll" then he laughed at his own joke. If calling someone a baby could count as a joke. "I am only here for the bridge builder, how about you hand him over and I will let you go. I will even forgive whatever you did with Gōzu and Meizu that caused them not to check in. "

Asuma spoke, "Mimochi Zabuza. It is a pleasure to meet you. I offer a counter. Please leave and we won't have to have you share the fate of your companions." It was clear by Asuma's tone what fate that was. The man on the sword didn't even flinch at the news that his comrades had died and his next words showed how little he cared.

"Ah, I see you know who I am. That is good, it is important that one knows the name of the person that takes their life. Unfortunately, I do not recognize you, but that does not matter." Asuma growled internally. It should be a complement for a shinobi of his stature to be unknown. After all a shinobi should be like a ghost but the elemental nations were a bit different than expectation and a shinobi's place in the bingo books was a point of pride and Asuma was not in any bingo book. He was determined for that to change.

… **Team 7 vs. Mimochi Zabuza**

Zabuza got off of his sword and pulled it from the tree as he took a ready stance in front of Asuma, who had drawn his trench knives, a thick mist started to come together. Along with the mist came a potent killing intent. Tazuna began to literally shiver and his heart started to beat out of control. He could taste his own death and was half a breath from running wildly in any direction. Hinata's hand stopped him.

Her movement seemed to have given Zabuza the impression that her guard was down and he appeared ready to cleave both her and his target in two. Instead he was simultaneously hit by a lightning infused jyuken strike and a wind blade that cut through his chakra infused mist. Zabuza instantly turned into water and a second Zabuza appeared behind Asuma and said "gotcha" before cutting off his head, only for the headless Asuma to unravel and vanish in a breeze.

Zabuza's face looked on in shock, not that his victim had also been a clone but that it was a wind clone. Nobody used those. Even in Kaze no Kuni (Wind Country), they used mud and sand clones. Zabuza had no time to show his disgust at the use of such a technique because he was decapitated by a wind infused cut by the Asuma behind him.

Zabuza's arrogance saved him, because it was another water clone. The real Zabuza who had not left his original spot was surprised at the speed and efficiency of this Jōnin. He was able to see through his own mist and had not seen Asuma approach his clone at all. Elemental clones did not have the memory transfer ability of shadow clones but he had the angle and should have seen the other shinobi's approach.

Instinct caused Zabuza to move and he found himself attacked by Asuma. His mist was still up and he didn't understand how this unknown Jōnin was fighting him. That was when he realized, the man knew the silent killing techniques as well and the mist was not helping him at all. He felt a massive spike of chakra behind him and the distraction was enough for the leaf nin to draw first blood leaving a deep gash on his arm.

He leaped away just in time as his mist was forcibly dispelled and he felt a wave of dizziness at the backlash. The area was completely clear of mist and he saw Asuma in a battle stance and his three Genin behind him in a protective formation around the bridge builder. Zabuza was beginning to worry. He had no idea where that chakra spike came from and he had never had his mist dispelled with such force that he felt a backlash.

He had no time to think on it as the Jōnin attacked again. He got his sword up to block and the two danced around each other striking and blocking. The man was obviously skilled but Zabuza was not a swordsman of the mist for no reason and he started to turn the blade duel to his advantage. He caught his opponent with an elbow strike to the ribs and then spun with his sword to chop him but the man got his wind infused blade up in time and merely got batted away. Zabuza planted his sword and rushed his opponent flashing quickly through hand seals and arrived just as Asuma hit the water, finishing his jutsu "Suirō no Jutsu" (Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu).

Asuma was caught before he could react and Zabuza was able to catch his breath. This fight had become more difficult than he had expected. He was bleeding from several cuts but was satisfied to see the water of the prison he held the leaf nin was turning red as well. He turned to the Genin and was put off balance by the lack of worry in them and the lack of direction coming from their trapped sensei. He had to keep one hand on the prison to maintain it. Four water clones rose from the small lake he was standing on a became Zabuza before attacking.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other once before they vanished in a burst of speed. Zabuza's water clones held a tenth of his total power which he thought was more than enough for a fight with some leaf Genin. He was wrong. The pink haired girl dived into the ground and vanished before two of his clones got grabbed by their ankles and buried to their necks. She appeared from the ground next to them slicing their throats on the way and dispelling them.

The blonde boy danced through the other two clones, who hadn't appeared with a sword since Zabuza had needed both hands for the water prison technique. He didn't think they would need it. He was wrong about that too. One clone got hold off the boy, only for his capture to vanished in puff before he just appeared above them and stabbed both clones at the same time.

Zabuza was about to make more water clones when the blonde boy tossed one of his swords to Sakura and they both threw them at him. They flew toward the swordsman in the same buzz saw way he had thrown his own sword at the beginning of this unexpected fight. With impressive skill, he caught the first sword and used it to deflect the second upward only for the second sword to henge back into Naruto at the top of the arc and throw his actual second word at Zabuza's shoulder joint.

Out of position and with no time to bring the sword he held back around he moved away from the water prison he was maintaining and it collapsed. Asuma who was now free, caught Naruto's second sword and instantly charged at Zabuza who made the mistake of blocking with Naruto's second sword. Fortunately for the missing nin, he noticed the chakra moving from the first sword to the second and let it go assuming that whatever was about to happen would not be good for him.

He leaped unto the shore and got his own sword. He looked around and saw that he was now surrounded by the Blonde, the pinkette and the Jōnin. The blonde had his own swords again and the Jōnin had his trench knives. Then the Jōnin attacked again, but not with his knives. "Fūryūdan no Jutsu" (Wind Release: Wind Dragon Bullet Jutsu).

Asuma smiled as his overpowered wind dragon struck at the missing nin. Their fight had been mostly taijutsu and kenjutsu up to this point and the man was unprepared for the surprise ninjutsu. The technique was the strongest he could currently do. It took less hand seals than the other elemental versions but, overpowered, used much more chakra. In fact, preparing to use it was why he had not used any other jutsu beyond what he used with his knives.

The wind dragon picked up the demon of the midst and slammed him against a tree. When the wind settled multiple cuts opened up across Zabuza'a body. None were fatal if treated and Asuma could not wait to be able to not only use that jutsu whenever he wanted but have enough power to make it instantly fatal. He was about to move to deliver the final blow when three sinbon needles hit his neck and Mimochi Zabuza fell dead.

… **Team 7 Wins**

A person wearing a mask that they all knew to be that of a Kirigakure "hunter nin" appeared. They looked at the new comer in surprise. The person spoke "Thank you for your help, I have been chasing Mimochi Za…"

SQUELTCH! THUD! All eyes turned to the body of the "Demon of the Mist". It now had a kunai piercing its mouth and out the back of its head. The position of the head suggested it was pinned to the tree. Everyone but the "hunter nin" turned to look at Naruto who had thrown the Kunai. "What? Sinbon aren't completely reliable, I was just making sure."

… **Fatality**

"ZABUZA-SAMA!"


	12. To Plan is to Plot

… **Trail to Tazuna's Home, Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves)**

The wail of the "hunter nin" was one of the most tragic sounds any of the four people witnessing it had ever heard. Asuma and Tazuna who were both old enough to have been alive during the era of the shinobi wars recognized it as the anguished cry of someone who had lost someone precious to them. Of the younger three, Hinata was the only one to recognize the sound based on personal experience as she had heard it twice in her life. It was the sound Neji had made when his father was sacrificed and the sound her own father had made when her mother died.

Hinata moved to the "hunter nin" who was an obvious accomplice of Zabuza. And struck her with a few jyuken strikes that knocked the person into unconsciousness. She could have killed them but by capturing the person they would be able to gather some intelligence about Gatō and what the man may have planned. She gave herself an internal congratulation at Asuma-sensei's approving nod.

With the wail silenced, Asuma turned back to the body of Mimochi Zabuza. He knew now that the man had not been truly dead before Naruto's kunai had struck him and he was embarrassed to admit that he had not thought of the fact that sinbon were notoriously used as a means of faking deaths. He was sure he would have remembered, eventually, but it would likely have been after the "hunter nin" had escaped with the "body".

"Congratulations, Team 7" Asuma said with a clap of his hand. "We have defeated an A-rank missing nin. And one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist." We will definitely be entered in the bingo books because of this. And since we will be keeping the Kubikiribōchō, Kirigakure will no doubt issue the largest bounty for us." Asuma eyes gleamed with excitement at the coming recognition. He took a breath and turned to his team. "Or you can choose to remain unknown."

Asuma took another breath "it is what I did in my early life as a Shinobi because I didn't want to be associated with my father's name. I worked completely in the shadows. I won't lie to you, I regret that now. I am a Jōnin of Konoha and I have had a very good career but, as you saw, I am relatively unknown and it bothers me." He looked to his students and was unsurprised at what he saw. All three of his students were denied recognition and attention at some point and they all craved it in one way or another. Team 7 would be known.

Without a word, he nodded and used a wind jutsu to cut off Zabuza's head. He sealed the head in a scroll and Naruto's kunai in a separate one. He handed the scroll with the kunai to Naruto and said, "This is the weapon that killed Mimochi Zabuza, A-rank missing nin, Demon of the Mist and Swordsman of the Hidden Mist." Naruto bowed respectfully and took the scroll.

Then Asuma collected the Kubikiribōchō and sealed it in a separate scroll. None of them had the desire to wield it so he would turn it over to the Hokage and it would be stored and possibly used as a bargaining chip with Kiri at some point in the future. The fact they didn't return it instantly is what would make them infamous to Water nin.

One fire jutsu later that turned the headless body to ash and the group turned to a still stunned Tazuna and told him it was time to keep moving. Asuma carried the "hunter nin" and the group retook their protective formation around the bridge builder. 30 minutes later they arrived at his home.

… **Tsugaru Clan Home, Kaiganaruku, Nami no Kuni**

The home of Tazuna was actually a small compound surrounded by a wall with a main house, four smaller houses and various other structures spread across the land. All of the buildings and the lands were in disrepair but anyone with an experienced eye would be able to tell that the buildings had been built with great skill.

The Tsugaru clan had been well respected builders in Nami no Kuni before poverty and disease had reduced it to a man, his daughter and her son. They were well known architects and bridge builders but at the height of their family's success, they had been known to build the very best fishing boats. In the turbulent waters of Nami no Kuni and Uzu no Kuni, vessels had to be simple and affordable for the people but still be very sturdy and reliable. That had been the duty of the Tsugaru Clan.

The main gate to the compound was missing when the group arrived but based on Tazuna's posture that was not unexpected. They moved to the main house and as soon as they arrived, the door opened, and a very attractive woman met them. It was easy to see how relieved she was to see the old man they were guarding and with a smile she ushered them into the house.

"I am so glad you are back tousan" the woman said as soon as they were inside the house. The two exchanged a hug that was part affection and part relief. The man released his daughter and introduced her as Tsunami to the shinobi. She thanked them each for protecting her father and offered them all something to eat. Her eyes kept drifting to the unconscious person Asuma was carrying but she did not mention it.

It may have seemed rude but Asuma stepped forward and took charge of the home. "Excuse me Tsunami-san but there is much work to be done before we can eat." He then gave a nod to the three Genin. Naruto took the unconscious "hunter nin" from Asuma and the three vanished back through the door. Tsunami gasped. From her perspective, it was like the three vanished. All she saw was a fading ghostly image of the three.

Asuma led the father and daughter to the dinner table and had them sit. "First, is there anyone else in the house or on the property?" he asked. Tsunami was still at a loss about what was happening so it as Tazuna that answered. "Yes, my grandson should be upstairs, asleep." He looked to his daughter who nodded in confirmation of his words.

Asuma nodded and then pinned the older man with a hard stare. "It is time I get a better idea of what we are dealing with and for me to explain what will happen and what it means for you." Tsunami's hands clutched at the necklace she wore, a little frightened by the tone of the lead shinobi her father had hired. She looked to her father concerned about what new trouble he might have brought to them.

Asuma saw her nervousness and softened his words and posture. "Do not worry Tsunami-san, we have already agreed to take on this mission and I promise that no harm will come to either you, your father or your son. But I must explain some things to your father, so he understands the depth of the situation he has created."

Tsunami looked to her father who would not meet her eyes and her nervousness evaporated and was replaced by irritation. Her father had done something. She met the shinobi's eyes and he was impressed by the fortitude that the woman had been hiding behind her confusion and concern.

Deciding to treat the woman as the true head of the family, he addressed her. "Your father came to Konoha and contracted our shinobi with a C-rank mission to protect him on his way home and while he completed his bridge. Missions are ranked from lowest, D-rank, to highest, A-rank. There is an S-rank but that is reserved for missions that are not only beyond A-rank in difficulty but may have financial or political ramifications. Do you understand."

Tsunami nodded. She was becoming more comfortable as the conversation went on and as she was brought out of the dark. Asuma smiled charmingly at her, "I won't bore you with all the intricacies around ranking missions, but I will tell you that your father purposely omitted information when contracting with us that caused the mission to be ranked as a C, instead of the A it should have been."

Tazuna shrank into himself at the heated glare he received from his daughter. Her father had committed a dishonorable act. To her honor was all her family had left and she was disheartened that the man she loved and respected would do such a thing. Asuma drew her attention back to himself and said "Your father explained the true nature of your circumstances including Gatō's unwanted attention toward yourself. Do not be too hard on your father, he sacrificed much of himself to try and protect you."

Tsunami's indignation collapsed. Her father had been the one to teach her about family and honor so she understood, probably more than the shinobi in front of her, the toll his deception had probably took on him. Looking closer she could see it. Father and daughter looked at Asuma with gratitude for putting their situation in perspective.

"It is not an accident that A-ranked missions cost so much more than C-rank missions" Asuma moved on, "It is not just because of the risk of lives lost as death is an accepted part of the lives we live. The real reason for the higher cost is because of the increased level of service. For the remainder of this mission, we will be treating this like an A-rank mission. Payment will be discussed in a moment." The two civilians looked at the man, confused again.

"As we speak, my Genin are conducting a security survey of your property. Our victory over both Zabuza and his accomplice has not only allowed you to be safe for the moment but has left our enemy blind. Until we turn in Zabuza's head for the reward, no one will know he is dead. Gatō will likely assume that is the case after about two or three days depending on the reporting schedule that was set up between him and the nin."

Asuma did not wait for the two to acknowledge him, "In that time we will be doing an overhaul of your property. As a result of that work, your property will be restored to its former glory. Buildings, landscaping, the wall and the gate will all be fixed to provide for a more defensible area. The painting is not necessary but we find that it is good business to do finishing work since we will be doing so much already. We will also be building escape tunnels."

Asuma smiled at the absolute shock on the face of Tazuna and his daughter. And he was not even finished. "For this to work, we will have to eliminate Gatō. However, eliminating him is not part of the contract. So this is what I propose. The current mission is an A-rank protection mission. We are securing your home and your jobsite as well as providing each member of the family with a protection detail until the bridge is completed.

If we stop there your family will be in debt to Konoha and we do not do payment plans." The two adults shivered wondering what that would mean for them. Both parents thought of their children, Tazuna afraid Tsunami would be taken and Tsunami afraid her son would be. Their assumptions were closer to the truth than they really wanted to know.

"Instead I suggest that you commission a second mission with Konoha through me. An infiltration and assassination mission." Two pairs of eyes widened. "We will infiltrate Gatō's company, steal his wealth and then kill him. Payment for both missions will be taken out of the proceeds." Speaking casually of stealing and assassinations was almost too much for the two civilians but Gatō's cruelty had opened their eyes to the realities of the world and they agreed.

"Also, the mission must be acceptable to the Daimyos, which means, we will gather evidence of his misdeeds and Tazuna must be seen as the leader of Kaiganaruku." Asuma concluded. Tsunami understood more than her father. Only a recognized village leader would be authorized to order an assassination. She assured the shinobi that her father was considered one of the village leaders. Asuma nodded and told them to go to sleep before disappearing out of the door to join his Genin.

… **Office of Gatō Fusataka, Gatō Company, Kaiganaruku, Nami no Kuni**

It had been four days since the man known simply as Gatō had heard from the missing nin he had hired to kill the bridge builder. When he first began his takeover of Nami no Kuni, he just executed troublemakers like him in the streets. But then he killed one particularly popular village idiot. He successfully broke the spirit of most of the village but his heavy handedness had brought some unwanted attention to his business dealings. He had salvaged the situation but had become more careful in how he killed people troublesome to him.

The bridge builder was a special nuisance as he was the head of a clan that was of particular interest to Gatō. Killing the troublemaker had served two purposes as it made available the man's beautiful wife and also made available the clan. If Gatō could marry that woman he could get access to their building methods. Using those methods to build shipping boats instead of fishing boats would expand his business greatly. As the daughter of a prominent clan, it would also further justify his claim to the country.

Such a marriage had to be registered in one of the five great nations' capitols and done in person by both parties. He thought of kidnap and ransom, but feared being found out in front of an angry samurai. No, he had to break her spirit. First her husband, then her father and perhaps lastly, her son. But it was taking too long and now he hadn't heard from his hired shinobi.

He sent one of his "samurai" to the Tsugaru clan compound to see what was happening and another to the bridge and had received a report that nothing had changed. Tazuna was still missing. His frustration was growing, and he decided he would give the woman one more week, then he would take his men and go get her. With her father missing for so long, she might be ready to listen, if not he would just let his men have her. He was sure she would be more pliable after that. He would go that day, but he wanted the dying hope of her still missing father to help his breaking of her.

… **Unspecific Location Near the Tsugaru Clan Compound**

A small army of clones had been in use since their arrival at the home of the bridge builder. They had cut back the tree line and brush away from the clan compound's walls, they had put down new sod outside and inside the walls. The wall had been repaired, strengthened by Sakura's earth jutsu, and painted. Under Tsunami's guidance they had repaired and painted all the buildings as well. It had brought her to tears to see her home revitalized.

Inari, Tsunami's son, had met the team on their first morning and before breakfast had finished he had thrown a tantrum about the futility of trying to fight against Gatō. "You should go back to your easy lives and leave us to our miserable ones. Gatō will just kill you. Its best you not learn what real pain is." He had screamed at them.

Hinata had rushed the boy and enveloped him in a hug. He had been caught off guard by her holding him but more so by her words. "Thank you Wakai Hīrō-kun [Young Hero]. I know you wish to save us from the hurt and pain that you are feeling. Whoever you have lost would be so proud of your selflessness." The boy had broken down in her arms, his body wracked with sobs.

As Hinata held the sobbing boy, Tsunami explained to the group that she had met and fell in love with a humble fisher man named Kaiza. The man was not from Nami no Kuni but had entered the village like a refreshing breeze. He inspired the men and the children and made the women feel cherished. He even saved the town when he swam through rushing water to close a broken door on the dam. He was Inari's hero before he was Tsunami's lover and the boy had been overjoyed that his hero had become his new father. Tsunami explained that the man had tried to fight against Gatō's influence and Gatō killed him in the public square as a warning and to break the spirit of the town.

Inari cried himself to sleep that night, but Hinata's words had penetrated him. The beautiful shinobi had told him that his father would be proud that he wanted them to avoid the suffering he had felt. He was not sure if his feelings had been as altruistic as he had been given credit for. And he wondered if his father would be proud of him if he did not continue to fight the evil Gatō. The next day Inari had watched the small army of clones transform his home and resolved to cry no more and help these shinobi fight Gatō.

At the same time, another small army of clones had joined Tazuna at the bridge. Half provided security and half helped Tazuna with his bridge. He had been reduced to the barest of willing workers but the clones brought the construction site back to full capacity. The activity even brought more workers from the town back to help again.

While their clones carried out their mission, the three Genin and a smaller group of clones under the watchful eyes of their sensei, continued to improve their shinobi skills. Hinata had started to adapt kicks into her Jyuken style, which better fit with her extreme flexibility and water affinity. Asuma-sensei provided her with a taijutsu scroll from Mizu no Kuni. Her lightning technique had been perfected to the point that she could fight with a constant electrical current dancing around her body that would flash with a dog shaped lightning bolt every time she struck.

Sakura was moving through all of the earth technique scrolls Asuma had acquired and she had perfected the first stage of Tsunade's Chakra Enhanced Strength technique and was able to flow chakra through her muscles. Like Hinata, multiple days using shadow clones had made her chakra control better than she had before the ritual. Despite having many times more chakra than Naruto at that point she had better chakra control than him. Something she found hilarious.

Naruto found it odd not being the chakra monster of the group any longer. He knew it would not last long, but it was interesting to say the least. He continued to refine his own chakra control. If he was comparing himself to anyone but Sakura he would be able to honestly say that his chakra control was on par with the best shinobi, but compared to Sakura he was pitiful.

… **Newly Built Escape Tunnels Below the Tsugaru Clan Compound, Kaiganaruku, Nami no Kuni**

Asuma looked at the beautiful girl tied up in front of him. Her body position was a turn on for him but that was a benefit, not the purpose. She was in a specially built seat that only supported her hips. The front was higher than the back keeping her knees higher than her waist and the legs were positioned to keep her legs spread. She was tied up in a way that kept her toes pointed, her back strait, her arms back and her fingers spread. There was also a chakra suppression seal on the entire chamber. All designed to make her unable to move and keep her body unbalanced. It was near impossible for a shinobi to escape.

It was a standard interrogation set up, that allowed for long term interrogation and torture. The seat even allowed for the voiding of waste. Asuma was using it for interrogation and seduction. Mostly seduction after so many days. He would be achieving his dream the following day as it was his turn to absorb Kyuubi's power. He now considered the girl before him to be a cherry to go on top of the sundae that was his coming increase in power.

That had not been his goal when he first saw her, strapped naked to the seat. He had acknowledged her beauty from the moment he saw her and admitted that being tied up, as she was, had tickled at his lust, but he was a focused shinobi and not a rapist. After checking that his Genin had bound her correctly and that the chakra seal had been applied properly, he had woken her up. And that was when everything changed.

When she came awake he had called her "hunter-chan", and she had responded by telling him she was a boy. It had shocked Asuma as he was currently looking at her small, firm breasts and her very cute hairless slit. He wondered what her game was when her eyes widened and she noticed for the first time that she was naked. Her babbling made Asuma realize that she was not stupid, she was just a very good liar and had been perpetuating the "I am a boy" lie for most of her life.

That was when she finally remembered that Zabuza was dead, since it was on his order she had declared herself a boy. Asuma got a second shock when she started demanding that he killed her too. She promised to tell him everything she knew about Zabuza, his plans, Gatō, his plans and anything else if Asuma would just allow her to die as well. It was when she started explaining that she was a broken tool that he decided he wanted her.

On that first day, he had suggested that he would kill her as she desired once she told him everything and he had gotten her entire story. In addition to Zabuza'a base of operations and Gatō's plan to break Tsunami so she would marry him and give him the Tsugaru clan's ship building techniques. The girl; named Haku, told him her entire story.

Haku's father had betrayed her and her mother to the Kiri blood purges once he discovered her ice release kekkei genkai. She had killed him after he had killed her mother. She had been 5. Zabuza had found her a year later and he had raised her to believe that she was only a tool for his use in achieving his dreams. By the time she was 10 she understood that his words were metaphor, but she liked the idea of being a tool and had committed herself completely to it. With Zabuza dead she considered herself a broken, failed tool and wanted to die.

It had been five days since Haku had been awake and Asuma had been the only one to see the 14 year old girl. His Genin knew his plans for her and approved. They figured Haku had a personality in the same family as Hinata's and needed a master and they thought Asuma would be a good one. Asuma spent his time with Haku convincing her that a tool does not break simply because its owner dies. He brought out the Kubikiribōchō as an example to show her that, like her, the sword was a tool that simply no longer had a master.

He also spent his time caring for her. She remained tied up the entire time and he fed her and cleaned her and disposed of her waste. He told her that he had no interest in claiming Zabuza'a sword, but he intended to claim his tool as she was the Demon of the Hidden Mist's greatest weapon. Haku ate it all up. Zabuza had never been completely comfortable with how she saw herself but Asuma understood. When he cleaned her with a sponge, he told her it reminded him of polishing a sword on a wet stone.

It was the eve of the ritual and Haku was as excited for it as Asuma. She saw herself as a tool, a weapon without a wielder, waiting to be claimed. Asuma told her that he would claim her after his ritual and she shivered in joy and anticipation. She noticed her own sexual arousal and embraced it. Her future Asuma-sama had told her that he would use her body to satisfy his sexual needs as much as his martial ones and it had ignited a desire in her she had not before had.

She was still and silent though. Asuma was wiping her down with a damp cloth. After he was finished he would oil her skin. It was the same way she had seen Zabuza-sama clean and oil the Kubikiribōchō. "Tomorrow, Haku-buki, I shall claim you." He said as he wiped her down. [AN: Buki is the Japanese word for weapon].


	13. Winners Win

… **Office of Gatō Fusataka, Gatō Company, Kaiganaruku, Nami no Kuni**

Gatō had lost his entire fortune…but he didn't know it.

Gatō had lost his business…but he didn't know it.

Gatō was a dead man…but he didn't know it.

Gatō Fusataka left his office with a cruel twisted smile on his face. He had received a final report about Tsunami and the woman was said to be devastated. He still had no clue what happened to Mimochi Zabuza, but he did not care. The bastard of a bridge builder Tsugaru Tazuna had not returned, and he figured that Zabuza had killed the man but had probably died himself in the confrontation with the shinobi Tazuna had hired to protect him. Gatō thought it had worked out marvelously for him since he had never intended to pay the missing nin anyway.

When Gatō got to the courtyard in front of his company he was met by his 500 men. All of the men that made up Gatō's "samurai" were criminals. Mostly bandits. The three that made up his personal guard, he was proud to say, were dishonored Ronin, actual samurai that would pledge their service to him once he was properly recognized as the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni. They had helped him keep a tight hold on Kaiganaruku and now he was bringing them all to ransack to Tsugaru clan compound. It had been the idea of his "majordomo".

The clever man had suggested that since the goal was to present a plausible series of events that led to Tsunami marrying him, that he should send his samurai to sack the Tsugaru compound. It would be reported as being done by "uncontrollable bandits". Gatō would show up, a bit late, to stop what was happening and that action would be what changed her mind.

It would be easily verified and in the worst case that Tsunami refused to see reason, the sacking should uncover the ship building techniques he wanted any way. Gatō had agreed to the plan almost instantly. He had half his men dressed like bandits and half like security forces from his company. The spectacle of the plan appealed to Gatō.

It was doomed to fail…but he didn't know it.

… **Flashback**

… **Small Forrest, Next to Tsugaru Clan Home, Kaiganaruku, Nami no Kuni**

Fukase Toyozo was running through the woods as fast as he could. He was excited because he was sure the information he had would provide him with a nice bonus from Gatō. Toyozo had turned to a life of crime early in his life and he had no excuse or tragic story behind his choice. At 15 he decided he wanted money and women and did not want to have to work harder than was necessary to get them.

He had always been a bully and had been a good enough fighter. He was pretty smart, relatively, as well and had stayed out of conflict with shinobi and samurai and still was able to make a comfortable life for himself targeting the type of people who could not afford shinobi or samurai.

He had joined Gatō's "samurai" because of the easy work bullying civilians. Gatō had sent him to check on Tsugaru Tsunami and he had been amazed at what he had found. Gatō's information had been wrong. Tazuna had returned. But more than that, he had found more workers. The bridge building project was going at full tilt and the old man had found enough workers to repair the old Tsugaru Clan compound as well.

He was about 400 yards away from the two sites running toward the main part of the village, when his feet were taking out from under him and he was knocked out. Up until the moment he went flying he had not even considered that someone might stop him. He didn't think anyone had seen him. In fact, he had been sure no one had seen him. Like his master, he was wrong…but he didn't know it.

The man they captured had been expected. It was part of their plan for people like him to show up. It was a surprise that it was only one guy as their planning had expected and been prepared for a group of 4 (with contingencies to 20) to be sent to check on Tsunami. Hinata changed into her disheveled slave girl outfit and persona and positioned herself next to the unconscious man. She nodded at her two partners and they vanished into the tree line.

When Toyoza returned to his senses, he found himself tied up next to a scared girl. His memory of what happened to him being hazy and that wasn't being helped by how little the girl he discovered next to him was wearing. He recognized the signs instantly as he had left his own fair share of girls in such a state. Her clothes were ripped and barely hanging on to her and behind the tatters he could see bruising on her breasts and thighs.

His memory about what he saw at the Tsugaru compound came back to him and he wondered what was going on. He knew that the missing nin Gatō had hired had disappeared and he wondered if perhaps the untrustworthy shinobi was making some type of play for power or money on his own. Whatever was happening someone or some group had captured both him and the "slut" next to him.

He was wondering if he could join the group that had captured him, imagining getting a turn with the quiet girl when a boy came out of the woods. He was disheveled and reminded Toyoza of himself, a bit. The boy was the girl's brother and he had come to rescue her. Toyoza hissed at the boy to free him as well. "What's your name?" the agitated boy asked.

"Fukase Toyozo but my friends call me Chīs"

That was the beginning. Over the next 30 minutes, as the three made their "escape", the disguised Naruto and Hinata asked "the hundred". When they were done Toyozo, who had been thinking of how to kill the boy so he could have a turn at the sister, found himself with a kunai piercing the base of his neck and swiftly dead. Naruto made a clone that henged into Toyozo's form and ran toward the village.

"The hundred" were a set of one hundred, yes or no, questions that along with a person's real name and the name they were called most often, would allow a shinobi to impersonate them with about 80% accuracy. Which was the accuracy level that most people would accept without question when dealing with someone. As long as a shinobi could get honest answers to "the hundred", impersonation would be no problem as long as an enemy nin was not involved.

Toyozo's body lead to the capture and interrogation of his two closest friends within the bandits. That led to a brothel in the city the shinobi took over. It had been abandoned after the bandits had "accidentally" killed the second girl. "Toyozo" and his two friends announced far and wide that not only had the brothel reopened but the girls in there were desperate and willing to do anything.

A steady stream of bandits and criminals streamed through the brothel. Each man who visited left telling tales of the most amazing sexual experiences of their lives with the youngest and most skilled girls they could have ever imagined. The doubtful were soon converted as the girls would walk around on the brothel's balcony in almost no clothes to entice passersby.

In a week, henged clones of Hinata, Sakura and Naruto had replaced Gatō's entire army and all of his personal staff. The village of Kaiganaruku also experienced a precipitous drop in the number of domestic abusers and petty criminals as well.

By the time, Gatō would leave to "collect" Tsunami on the advice of a Sakura clone, he had unintentionally signed papers that sold his business. His personal vault had been emptied and payments had been put aside for all the villagers he had swindled, the Tsugaru family and, of course, payment for an A-class and an S-class mission, to go to Konoha.

… **End Flashback**

… **Tsugaru Clan Home, Kaiganaruku, Nami no Kuni**

To say Gatō was surprised at what he found when he arrived at the property that held the Tsugaru Clan compound, would be a serious understatement. He had many questions but the most prevalent was how had the compound been rebuilt, and he had not been made aware? On top of that, he could see beyond the gate that Tazuna was present, as were four people who were obviously shinobi.

Gatō was glad he brought all his forces. He was aware of the skill of shinobi, but was sure that even they could not stand against his 500 men. "Well 499", he thought before turning to Chīs and stabbing the man in the heart. Gatō was generally a coward but he felt safe in killing the man. He also imagined that it would sew fear in the family he had been terrorizing for almost a year. But mainly he did it to show his displeasure at not being told about the return of Tazuna and the revival of the Tsugaru clan compound.

His thoughts ground to a halt when, instead of gushing blood and dying eyes, the man, he had murdered, vanished in a puff of smoke. He jumped back in confusion. His confusion turned to horror when each one of his men began vanishing in similar puffs, in a domino chain. When it was done, Gatō was standing at the gate, by himself. He turned back to find the entire Tsugaru family staring at him with cold eyes and the four shinobis approaching him. He knew they were two men and two women but could not see their face as their heads were covered by hoods and half their face covered by masks.

It was a testament to the level of fear and confusion the little man was feeling that he did not comment, not even mentally, on the sexy outfits of the female shinobi. Nor was he resentful of the package of the male shinobi that clearly outshined his own equipment. In that moment all he could focus on was his approaching death.

Gatō knew what was about to happen to him. His confusion about his man did not negate the feeling of killing intent he felt coming toward him. He started to beg. He offered money and promises of anything they could desire. It was Inari that screamed that he wanted his "tousan" back. A moment of silence followed that and Gatō's frantic eyes turned to the tallest shinobi in horror at the knowledge that he could not bring back the man he had killed. That was his last thought before his head was removed from his body.

 **...Naruto's Mindscape**

Naruto was sitting in his lounge chair in front of a recovered Karumi. The ritual for Hinata and Sakura had not done anything to her except make her feel less powerful while waiting for her chakra tails to recover. But the ritual for Asuma had caused her to need to rest and she had slept for the entire month it took to recover her power. The Kyuubi had found herself slightly impressed by the man training her container. He was determined and ruthless and had no fear of power or what it took to achieve it. And better yet, he had instilled those values in Naruto.

Since she had fallen asleep right after the ritual, she was listening to Naruto tell the tale of what happened. The last thing she remembered seeing through Naruto's eyes was Sakura' appreciative glances at the naked Jōnin. Karumi understood that, the older man was built of tight compact muscles that did not bulge too much and he had a fair number of scars. Enough to make him look dangerous without looking disfigured. Something that appealed to many women. Especially kunoichi.

Sadly, Naruto had a very similar body despite having nowhere close to the experience of the older man. Karumi, like Hinata and Sakura, found Naruto's scars sexy as well, but for the Kyuubi who had been present for the cruelty of the villagers when they were applied, she found she could not fully be turned on by them. They had already collected the kitsune contract from the dimensional seal she had hidden it in and since then Naruto had been treating her like a friend. The turn around did turn her on.

"…Asuma-sensei told us that he had figured that the first use of chakra we did after the ritual seemed to be mutating it or something. Hinata's eyes got an upgrade and Sakura's strength got a boost. So, he decided to cast a Fūryūdan no Jutsu" (Wind Release: Wind Dragon Bullet Jutsu). Naruto explained excitedly. "It was bigger than the one he made in the fight with Zabuza and it didn't dispel after the attack, it just sat there."

Karumi was truly intrigued at that point. It sounded almost as if Asuma had created an elemental minor bijuu. As she listened to Naruto's explanation, it became clear that was exactly what had happened. The wind dragon vanished at a thought from Asuma and he figured out he could call it without going through hand seals. It took a one tail of chakra to maintain but chakra was never going to be a problem for them again. Naruto planned to use the same technique after his ritual.

Karumi did not love that. Her container was giving up a great deal of power to allow her to remain alive and she did not like the idea that he and Asuma would have the same power. She interrupted Naruto and asked him how his fūinjutsu was coming along. He looked at her confused for a moment and then told her, pridefully, that he had reached level 8. She smiled.

… **Location Outside the Walls of the Tsugaru Compound, Kaiganaruku, Nami no Kuni**

Haku was as happy as she had ever been in her life. When she saw the kunai enter Zabuza's head she had thought her entire world had collapsed and been destroyed but instead it had been the greatest blessing of her life. She had seen Zabuza kill a lot of swordsman and he had loved to laugh at their deaths, berating them for being poor swordsmen that did not deserve the swords they carried.

She now viewed Zabuza in the same way. She was a tool, a weapon and he was her first wielder. And like so many of the poor swordsmen that Zabuza had killed, he had turned out to be equally as poor and undeserving. Her new owner was much better. Unlike Zabuza who she had been more powerful than, Asuma was more powerful than her. Much more powerful.

He also respected what she was and was working to make the best use of her. She was his "Haku-baki", his living weapon. He had made her henge into a sword and a staff already but decided she was best used as a person. He was teaching her the dual fighting style that the Demon brothers had used. And they were modifying it to use her as a weapon to attack or defend during his fight. The scroll for the technique had been among the brother's possession and she was disgusted by the powerful style their laziness and stupidity had caused them to neglect.

She was currently standing next to him quietly as they watched Asuma's prized student prepare to absorb 8 and a half tails worth of the Kyuubi's power. She was allowed to view it because of a seal that had been applied to her tongue that would prevent her from divulging her master's, or his student's, secrets. She did not know how this group had come into possession of such an amazing ability but she was not the only one surprised when Naruto had first announced that the Kyuubi had offered him a little more power and the ability to enhance two skills and not just one.

Naruto and the Kyuubi had spent the entire night deconstructing the seal to discover the source of the enhancement effect and had found it. A minor change would give him the ability to enhance two jutsu and a minor change by the Kyuubi would allow her to give him a bit more power than had been given to Asuma. Haku had thought her Asuma-sama would be mad or jealous that Naruto had found a way to take more power for himself but the man had instead been proud.

Haku had heard of the bijuu and of the most powerful of them, the Kyuubi no Yoko. In her travels, she had visited places where the tailed beasts were considered myths and she had visited places where they were considered absolute fact. Her and Zabuza had even visited Konoha once where witnesses to the Kyuubi's most infamous attack still lived.

What she was seeing was final confirmation. Naruto was glowing red and the ghostly image of the nine-tailed beat he held within himself was hovering over him. She could see the red chakra of the beast moving through the seal on his stomach before shooting out curving around his body and entering back into him as blue chakra. Asuma's absorption ritual had taken a full 21 and a half hours to complete and Naruto's would take even longer.

In the end, it had taken 32 hours for the ritual to end. The last ten hours had made her master nervous as the filtered chakra during the absorption of half the final tail had been half red and half blue. Instead of the more consistent blue of the previous 8 tails. But neither the Kyuubi, nor Naruto looked to be in pain and they couldn't interrupt the ritual any way.

Naruto felt powerful, he could feel his chakra in him. His sensei and two girlfriends had all reported this feeling and told him that it was even better once he started channeling chakra. Asuma said it was because their chakra pathways were expanding to manage the additional power as they did their chakra control exercises. Naruto kept calm and stayed with the plan. He stretched his limbs and did a self check for an hour and then he ran through the hand seals and said, "Fūryūdan no Jutsu". A massive wind dragon coalesced around him.

The air currents that made it up glowed a soft blue. Like Asuma's it was an eastern style dragon looking like a thick snake with for short legs and appendages on its nose that looked like a long mustache. Then Naruto did a different set of hand seals and called out "Gōryūka no Jutsu" (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu". That jutsu normally produced a "Fire breath" shaped like a dragon-head, but Naruto's mouth belched out a stream of fire that became an entire fire dragon that was the twin of the Wind dragon. In addition to the flames of the dragon, red chakra could be seen.

The two dragons looked at each other and bellowed a roar before dispersing. Naruto called them both back with a wave of his hand and was even able to call miniature dog sized versions. Something Asuma instantly copied as he had not thought of trying to control his wind dragon's size. The three powerful elementals looked at each other with Naruto's two standing across from Asuma's. Whenever Naruto's fire elemental got too close to Asuma's wind, the wind dragon would explode in a flash of fire before the wind reformed into the dragon shape.

The four members of the team looked at each other and began to roar in laughter. They had done it and all achieved unimaginable levels of chakra and the power that came with it. After they calmed, they gathered together every note and document they had made related to what they had done and burned them to ash and then scattered the ashes. Asuma used his wind dragon to scatter them and they floated away completely.

Naruto checked within his mind on the Kyuubi and found her in her human form with a tail that looked smaller than normal and was not quite as bushy. She was already fast asleep. He returned to the real world and reported that everything had gone as planned and Karumi was recovering. They decided to wait an additional week before signing the kitsune summoning contract. Asuma wanted all of them at full strength and in full control of their chakra.

… **Uzushigakure Ruins, Uzi no Kuni**

Team 7 had been on the mission to Nami no Kuni for almost two months. The issue with Gatō had been solved in three weeks. Once the man was dead and his assets acquired, the remaining time while the bridge was being completed was spent organizing the Gatō company. The company was now owned by Nami no Kuni with small individual ownership stakes bought by each member of Team 7.

A contract was created between the Tsugaru clan and Gatō Company that would provide the company with three large shipping vessels. Asuma had participated in a coup before and most of what needed to be done was the same. Tazuna was installed as the village chief while various members of the village were appointed to the village council and a separate group of people as the Gatō Company's board of directors.

Since Kaiganaruku was the only village in Nami no Kuni, the village council was also the provincial council. With the Gatō Company headquartered there permanently and some good advice from Asuma, Nami no Kuni was set up to have a healthy economy. Asuma was even able to establish a trading contract between Wave and Fire country. Kaizoku sea was known for turbulent waters but also known for having may prized fish. Gatō company, the Tsugaru clan's fishing vessels and the skilled fishermen of Nami no Kuni made a potent combination for delivering delicacies to the Fire Daimyo and his court.

It was the last week before it would be time to return to Konoha and Team 7 had gone to look at the ancestral home lands of Uzumaki Naruto. Uzi no Kuni was an island chain north east of Nami no Kuni. The famed whirlpools were scattered between the islands and were quite a site to see. However, unlike Naruto's mental picture, the whirlpools did not completely surround the islands answering the questions as to how enemies could reach the gates of the village.

Touring the area, it quickly became apparent how Uzushiogakure was set up and why it was thought of as synonymous with all of Uzi no Kuni. Only one of the many islands had been lived on. The remaining islands were training grounds. Naruto just walked around the abandoned and destroyed village to affirm his resolve to bring it and his family back. The Uzumaki fortune and treasures had been secreted away but Naruto was able to collect some things that had been left behind.

He found and collected banners from the four main families that made up Uzu; Uzumaki, Uzuchika, Uzusane and Uzukaatsu. Each family symbol was a swirl but his growing mastery of seals allowed him to see the patterns hidden in the swirls. When he was able he would search the elemental nations for all remnants of the four families and bring them back. The key was in the items that the Hokage were keeping for him. His apartment would be ready on his return and he would be able to begin his search.

Team 7 helped him and over the course of three days they found and catalogued many trinkets and family items that the raiders had left behind. There was nothing of great value but he was looking at his family history and wanted to save as much of it as he could find. He realized that there were Uzushiogakure items out in the world that had been taken by the raiders and he promised to recover them as well.

They didn't have to bury any remains as it seemed that when the Konoha forces finally arrived, they took on that task. Naruto was pleased to see that graves had been dug and organized with care, but was saddened at the visual representation of how much family he had lost by the rows and rows of headstones. After Naruto was finished, Asuma took the group to one of Uzu's training islands. It was time to sign the kitsune summoning contract.

With the Gatō situation solved, Asuma had put Team 7, including himself, through rigorous training. He rebuilt them from the ground up. With the use of thousands of clones, taijutsu, kenjutsu, ninjutsu, fūinjutsu (for Naruto) were all brought up to beyond mastery levels. Hinata's Lightning gentle fist and feet variation had been refined and she was able to develop an Eight Trigrams two hundred fifty-six palms technique that closed virtually all of a person's chakra. It was overkill and the one time Hinata used it on a bandit the man died just from the arresting of the natural flow of his bodies energies.

Sakura had continued to develop her strength and had achieved a strength that rivaled Tsunade's from just flowing her chakra through her body. Asuma imagined that she may become the strongest person in the world if they could find Tsunade to teach her the full technique. Sakura had combined her immense strength with her earth release jutsus and become virtually unstoppable. She moved like the wind and hit like a mountain.

With most of the mission parameters complete and all of the rituals done, Sakura's tsundere personality began to show itself. Asuma was surprised at how far Naruto let it go as Sakura began to believe she was the strongest and most powerful of them all. Finally, she screamed at Naruto, calling him "Naruto-baka" and Asuma became witness to an amazing fight.

With what amounted to a bottomless chakra reserve, the two Genin threw and endless stream of ninjutsu at each other, pausing only to engage in taijutsu. Asuma had thought that Sakura would have the advantage in taijutsu as she was so much stronger. And it was clear the pink hair girl thought the same as she went after him with everything she had. But Naruto danced around her strikes before forcing Sakura back into a ninjutsu fight.

It ended with Sakura across his lap, her naked ass in the air and Naruto laying hard slaps against her exposed cheeks. Asuma saw that Naruto's hand was glowing with chakra and doubted a regular shinobi could survive the strikes that were only causing Sakura to cry. Eventually the two started to kiss and the last thing Asuma heard before dragging Haku away for his own pleasure was Sakura meekly asking, "Why'd you let me get so bad?"

They had left for Uzu no Kuni shortly after that. Asuma stood back to watch Naruto sign the kitsune contract and summon the boss. He was thinking of the power they now all possessed and wondered how he would rate them. He was definitely an S-class shinobi at this point. He had been ANBU level before his power boost and training. He did not know how to rate his Genin. They had the power and skill to be considered S-class, but not the experience. They hadn't even been in open combat with any of Gatō's thugs, killing them off using guile and cunning.

Naruto opened the large scroll and saw the distinct lack of previous summoners. He pricked his thumb and signed his name in blood and then allowed his blood to pool so he could press down his fingers beneath his signature. He looked up and smiled at his two girlfriends, his sensei and his sensei's weapon. He stood up and performed the summoning technique with his still bleeding finger, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu".


	14. Bargains

… **Former Uzushigakure Training Ground, Uzu no Kuni**

When the smoke cleared Naruto was face to face with a little girl. She didn't look to be any older than 7. She was obviously a kitsune as she had fox ears on the top of her head, a ring of fur around her neck and one bushy tail. She also had larger than normal, perfectly round eyes. The sclera was white but she had a red iris with a narrow vertical black pupil.

Naruto looked at the girl who was looking back at him with surprise. She stood in the clearing looking around in wonder for a full five minutes before she finally asked. "Di…Did you summon me?" She was still looking around when she asked so she was not really directing her question at any one person. Naruto took that as his cue though. "Yes, I summoned you. I purposely used a small amount of chakra because I know it's considered rude to summon one of a summoning clan's bosses without giving them a heads up, especially the first time and when there isn't an emergency."

The little girl had not stopped looking around until Naruto said "What's your name? My name is Uzumaki Naruto." The kitsune introduced herself as Shime, never actually looking at any of the five people standing in the clearing, instead continuing her inspection of the area. Naruto smiled thinking the little girl was just living up to the curious reputation that foxes had.

"I want you to go back and tell the boss I would like to speak to them and I will be summoning them in an hour." The little girl's eyes locked on his and she yelled "Please, no! Don't send me back. I want to see the world again." Naruto moved to the cute little girl and hugged her. "Don't worry. I will call for you again. I promise and I always keep my promises. I have the summoning contract and I will be letting you and your sisters out."

The cute girl looked at him with her round, adorable eyes for a long time, then nodded. With that he released the summon and she vanished in a puff. Naruto stood and looked at his team. "Well that went well" They could all just nod. They were still amazed that they had actually just met a legendary creature. The excitement of the group did not recede much as they waited for the hour to pass. Finally, when the time was up, Naruto took a breath and cute his finger again. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu".

This time he put a lot more chakra into it and when the smoke cleared they were faced with something completely different that they had the first time and completely unexpected. The Kitsune boss was not a giant as they had expected, though she was over six feet tall. Instead the woman who appeared looked to be in her twenties, had at least 20 tales that seemed to be swaying in an unseen breeze, and was dressed in samurai armor and holding a sheathed nodashi across her back.

Her head was uncovered and she had her long her in a tight braid down her back. In addition to the tales she had the fox ears, no ring of fur at her neck and the fox eyes like Shime. Naruto took a more guarded stance with this woman as it was clear she was strong, especially since she represented the boss of the Kitsune summoning clan.

Unlike Shime, her eyes locked on Naruto and stayed there. "I am Inume. I am the most powerful of the Kitsune maidens and the leader of the Kitsune clan. Who has finally found our contract and seeks to free us.?" Naruto wanted to look over to his sensei for advice on how to handle this woman, but something told him that he would lose her respect if he was seen seeking guidance from someone else.

"Good day, Inume, I am Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, head of the Uzumaki and Namikaze clan and last living member. And I am the first summoner of the Kitsune Clan." Naruto felt pretentious speaking but it seemed like the moment and the woman in front of him required it.

Inume sank into a lotus seating position with extreme grace and planted the sheathed nose of her nodashi into the ground next to her. The sword and sheath, together, was at least 6 feet tall and stood vertically with one of Inume's hands holding it. "May I ask how you found our summoning scroll?" Naruto figured that he had made it across the first hurdle and so lowered himself into the lotus position as well. His team members did the same indicating that they were deferring to him in this.

"I did not find it, it was given to me as a part of a bargain with the Kyuubi no Yoko" That definitely got the woman's attention. There were two things Naruto really should have known before attempting to summon the Kitsune. The first was that despite Shime's reaction to being freed of the summoning realm, the Kitsune all felt that their father had protected them when he gave them the summoning realm to live in. It not only protected them but the nature chakra that suffused the realm gave them the ability to grow in power. So they honored him.

The second thing he should have known was that the Kitsune respected cunning and guile above all else and nothing suggested cunning and guile to Inume more than the notion that the boy in front of her was able to strike a bargain with her father for the item he likely held most precious. "And what did you give my father in exchange for this contract?" Inume asked

Naruto looked at her for a long moment. "That is a long story, and it is not all pleasant to hear. Will you hear my entire story?" he said. She nodded stiffly. He began by confirming that she knew the history of the bijuu and the Sage of Six Paths. She did not know the whole story so he told her. Then he explained that while a bijuu could not die as its chakra would just reform again, the personality could. "I am sorry, but your father is dead." He confirmed.

Inume's fist tightened around her nodashi as she heard that the intelligence that was her father had perished. Naruto gave her a moment. It amazed him that a being that is so feared and hated could still be loved. When her grip loosened Naruto took that as a signal to continue. He explained that when the Kyuubi reformed, the intelligence was that of a woman named Karumi. And that Karumi considered herself a daughter of Karuma as she had all of his memories.

The relatively modern history of Karumi was explained, including the fact that her and all the bijuu were sealed within people. He told of the fact that his mother was the container and while she was giving birth an enemy forcefully extracted the Kyuubi to control her and force her to attack his birth village, Konoha no Sato. And that she was re-sealed within him. Naruto lifted his shirt to show the seal.

Finally, Naruto explained the absorption seal and that he and his team had planned to take all of Karumi's tails, which would "kill" her, and realizing their plan bargained her life in exchange for the summoning scroll. The two sat in silence at the end of Naruto's tale. He did not flinch from the gaze of the boss summon of the Kitsune clan as she attempted to falter his will with her eyes.

Inume was clever. Cleverness was part of who she was and who the Kitsune was. She held not true ill will toward either the boy in front of her or even his village. Living beings are selfish creatures and they should be. Sealing the bijuu was the best decision for humanity and she understood that. She also understood why her "sister" had bargained their contract in exchange for her life.

But it was time for Inume's selfishness and she wanted to make a bargain for becoming the summon of this boy. "Very well. I can tell that you are powerful, and I will allow you to summon my clan, but we must make a bargain if you intend to summon me, again." Naruto' eyes narrowed at her words. He decided he would hear what she wants.

"Every Kitsune that has ever been born is within the summoning realm, but also every Kitsune has Karuma as father because no new Kitsune has been born since he moved us there. I am his first daughter and Shime is his last daughter." Inume spoke. Then her grin turned sly.

"The Uzumaki clan was known to me when last I lived in this realm and they were well known for their strength, loyalty and skill. Do you claim that remains true in you, its last member?" Naruto looked at the Kitsune with hard eyes. "Yes" he said simply. Her smile became predatory.

"Then I wish for you to repopulate your clan with only my sisters as your children's mothers. You will choose 10 of my clan and give them each 3 children, at least. And they will mark the beginning of the new Uzumakis." The clearing had been silent as the two had been speaking, but managed to go even more so at the Kitsune's words.

Inume's eyes danced with mirth as she felt the impressively strong killing intent directed at her from the two girls. Her mirth died a little when the killing intent continued to rise until she finally said "Do not worry, Uzumaki-domo. I can smell your mates on you and would not deny you them. Let them help you repopulate the Namikaze Clan. That is my bargain."

Inume expected him to send her away so that he could discuss this with his mates. She thought it possible that he might talk to them with her present. What she did not expect was for him to say, "Very well, but both of my mates will sign the summoning contract and you will answer their summons. And the summoning scroll shall be a Namikaze family heirloom and you will only accept a Namikaze as a summoner. That is my condition."

Inume was pleased with the boy. It was a good bargain. She would get what she wanted but he would leave with a valuable prize as well. "We are agreed" she said. Tell your mates to sign their names as Namikaze. I can see that you are not yet married but I recognize you as such. Then she vanished. He exhaled a breath and looked over to his team. Three shocked female faces and a male with a perverted grin a mile wide.

… **Main Gates, Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni**

Team 7 crested the final hill and saw Konoha. They had been gone for a little over two months but their mission, both official and unofficial, had been a success beyond their wildest dreams. Naruto had gained the most. Not only had he gained a massive increase to his personal power, but he had gained two elemental dragon spirits. He'd named them Horyu (fire dragon) and Kazeryu (wind dragon).

Naruto's achievements hadn't ended their as he had acquired and signed the legendary Kitsune summoning contract and bargained with the "Boss Kitsune", Inume, and gotten himself an instant harem of gorgeous fox girls. His existing gorgeous girlfriends/slaves had been excited for him, especially since the negotiation left them as sort of married into the Namikaze clan, and able to summon the powerful fox girls as well.

Hinata and Sakura were both bisexual and had no problem with including sexy fox girls in their fun with their Naruto-kun. But apart from that they had also gained much from the mission. Naruto's bargain had secured exclusive rights to the kitsune summoning contract to their future children which by itself guaranteed the Namikaze would be recognized as a clan as that was practically a kekkei genkai. In addition to the fame of the Yondaime Hokage, that would make the Namikaze name very honored and they would be the clan head's wives. Neither of their fathers would dare oppose such a match.

Hinata and Sakura also gained massive power boosts. Hinata achieving what they had decided to call a second level to the byakugan. Something that was only associated with the Sharingan before. Sakura had achieved superhuman strength and agility. The two kunoichi had signed the kitsune contract and now had permanent companions. The one-tailed Shime for Hinata and a two tailed kitsune named Haname that joined Sakura.

The kitsune could shape change so Shime and Haname were in their fox forms. Shime was the size of a large cat that had made a home for herself in between Hinata's large breasts, when present. Haname was the size of a panther and all of Team 7 were excited to see the reaction of the village to the big fox with two tails. Both Kitsune were currently in the summoning realm until after they could speak to the Hokage.

Asuma's gains, in many ways, were the least of all. By skill and experience he remained the most powerful. But his chakra reserve was second to Naruto and his upper potential was likely the smallest as he had no doubt that by the time they reached Jōnin, both Hinata and Sakura would probably be able to beat him. But he was also the happiest with how things had turned out.

Since he had learned of the absorption seal, the path toward gaining the power had seemed impossible, but he had achieved it. And as a bonus he had gotten his own elemental dragon spirit, he had named it Kazetatsu (wind dragon). And he could not forget his greatest prize; Haku. Powerful, young, sexy and absolutely obedient. He had worried that her stoic nature would translate into their lovemaking, but he needn't have worried because she was wild and uninhibited with him from the moment he claimed her virginal body.

Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo, affectionately known as the internal chunins, met the returning shinobi at the gate. It was very possible, almost likely, that the two gate guards were Jōnin level, if not ranked, and there were rumors that they were actually undercover ANBU. Regardless, their responsibility was checking everyone that wanted to enter or leave Konoha. It was a duty they took very seriously, even if their care free personalities suggested otherwise.

Kotetsu saw the approaching group first. He recognized them very quickly as Team 7 plus one unknown. The unknown caused the two gate guards to pay a little more attention. When the group reached them, Asuma stepped forward to report the team's return. Izumo nodded as Asuma used all the proper code words with none of the "under duress" phrases that had been assigned with the team mission scroll.

Asuma reported Haku as a ronin shinobi that they had recruited to be considered for service under the authority of the Hokage. Kotetsu finished his arrival report to be and gave Asuma a copy and directed him to report to the Hokage office. When the group left, Kotetsu sent a wire to the ANBU about an additional shinobi officially in the village.

… **Hokage Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

The Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, looked at his favorite team in amazement. They had left on a C-rank mission to escort a man to Nami no Kuni and provide security services while the man built a bridge. According to the report he was given, they discovered that the client had lied about the details of the mission and it was in fact an A-rank protection mission.

Asuma made a field decision to accept the upgraded mission and negotiate a second mission. An S-ranked assassination mission, no less. In the end they had killed three Kirigakure missing nins, one of who was Mimochi Zabuza, an A-rank missing nin and one of the seven swordsmen of the mist and collected the famous Kubikiribōchō sword. They completed both missions and, in the process, set up the beginnings of a lucrative trade agreement between Nami no Kuni and Hi no Kuni.

In addition to the mission parameters, Asuma had claimed for himself a ronin shinobi and the team had visited the Uzushiogakure ruins and made a startling discovery. The ronin shinobi, Haku, had been trained and worked for Zabuza but Asuma had converted the girl and "enslaved" her to himself. Yamanaka Inoichi would confirm what Hiruzen suspected; that she was completely loyal to Asuma. She also had an ice release kekkei genkai of the Yuki Clan and Asuma planned to lead a Yuki Clan in Konoha.

At the ruins of Uzushiogakure the team had set out to collect sentimental items due to Naruto's desire to rebuild not only his clan but the village. In the process, they found a legendary summoning contract that was not just thought lost, but was thought to be mythical and Naruto struck a bargain with the summoning clan of fox girls to have them exclusively be the mothers of the next three generations of Uzumaki Clan members. In addition, the bargain also declared that only the Namikaze clan could sign the Kitsune contract.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a long drag on his pipe. Asuma had taken a personal risk in his actions. Jōnin were authorized to make the decisions he had made but were subject to the scrutiny of the Hokage and bad field decisions could lead to many dire consequences, including death. But his son had done very well. He had brought back the mission fees, which included a penalty for the original deception and he was sure the Daimyo would be pleased by the trading agreement and the especially the exotic fish.

He stated that to the Jōnin, letting him know that it was a job well done. Then he shifted his attention to Naruto. The parameters of the bargain he had struck with the Kitsune would require the truth about Naruto's parentage be released to the public. Asuma's report had included an evaluation of the skill level of the team. It did not include the power boosts they had received but it did make clear that Naruto was already "at least Chunin level in power and skill". Which meant he could protect himself.

It was quiet in the room for a long while. The Hokage taking multiple draws on his pipe before he nodded to himself. "I will call a meeting of the council" He finally said, "We will announce the Yuki Clan and that Asuma is leaving the Sarutobi clan to head it." His son looked at him with surprised eyes. Asuma did not expect to have to leave the Sarutobi Clan. His father calmed him by saying that his new clan would be accepted as cousins of the Sarutobi Clan, but it must stand on its own due to the kekkei genkai. "Hai, otou-san" Asuma said.

Hiruzen looked to Naruto "We will announce who you are. The Uzumaki Clan will be revived and then I'll petition for the Namikaze family to be made an official shinobi clan due to the exclusive rights you negotiated with the Kitsunes." All the members of Team 7 smiled brightly at Naruto. They knew how important it was for him to get recognition for both his families. "Thank you, Jiji" Naruto said.

They left and Asuma congratulated Naruto on achieving part of his dream. The Jōnin gave them three days off and then they would meet at training ground 8. He told them honestly that he intended to enter them in the upcoming Chunin exams and he wanted to try and get in a couple C rank missions and possibly a B rank before that time. They shared a final smile at their success with the absorption ritual and then separated.

… **Uzumaki Clan Satellite Compound, Konohagakure**

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata stood in front of the doors of what would become the Uzumaki Clan presence in Konoha. The five story apartment building had still been under construction when they had left but that was now complete. It still needed to have some finishing work and landscaping but that was something Naruto and his clones could handle by himself.

The building was in a good, but not great, neighborhood and was away from the Clan district. It sat in the center of its plot of land and Naruto planned to add a stone wall around the perimeter that would give it more of a compound feel. He wanted any who walked by to know that they were passing a clan's home. He also wanted it to be impressive despite the relatively small amount of land.

The concern around having a smaller plot of land for clan dwelling was security. The perimeter wall would be too close to the building and the distance between his building and the one next to it was close enough to make the wall useless when dealing with shinobi who could make the distance with a minimum use of chakra. Spying was also a concern due to the proximity of other buildings.

Naruto was not concerned with any of the obvious issues and the reason for that was one word. Fūinjutsu. He was now a level 9 seal master and would likely be level 10 by the Chunin exams. Since level 10 was the highest rating available, not counting the three additional levels rumored to be part of the Uzumaki Sealing System, he was more than able to use seals to protect his home.

He led Hinata and Sakura through the doors and into the building. Protecting the building from people who still refused to accept that he was not the Kyuubi he contained had been an ongoing C-rank mission while he was gone. So, his newly restored building looked very good. It had a large lobby on the first floor with two large apartments. The second and third floors each had six large apartments and the fourth floor had three huge luxury apartments. The fifth floor had been the same, but it had been all combined into one large space for Naruto.

Naruto was not one to put off things for later so he prepared to work to secure his new property, so he would no longer have to pay for round the clock protection. Fortunately for him and his two girlfriend's desire to "bless" his new home, he was ridiculously powerful and knew the shadow clone jutsu. A cross-fingered ninjutsu later and Naruto was able to begin securing his home and give his girlfriend's and their delectable bodies the attention they desired and deserved.

He found them in the bedroom. Both were naked except for a pair of panties. Naruto always wanted to be the one to remove their last article of clothing. With a growl that excited to the two girls Naruto fell on Sakura and Hinata. While 500 clones got to work applying seals everywhere; squeals, groans and pleasure filled moans filled the air.

The clones applied seals to almost the entire lawn, the front door, the elevator door, every apartment door, every window and the roof. The seals did everything from bar access, to prevent scrying (like form the Hokage crystal ball), to attacking intruders. One set of seals were called siege seals and they put the area into "war" mode and would be lethal to all attackers. All the seals had been created or modified by Naruto. Once he got a hand on all his father's notes, it would become even worse for anyone seeking to harm him or his family.

Once that was complete, half the clones started using a combination of earth jutsu and masonry techniques to build the 8 foot wall that would surround the apartment. That effort included quarrying some stone from the mountain range that surrounded the village. The other half of the clones completed the finishing from the construction. Installing trimming and door handles. And especially painting.

The neighborhood had been aware of the construction at the run down building and even though many people still didn't like the owner, most of the neighbors were glad to see the eyesore brought back to looking decent. As amazing as the transformation of the building had been over the previous two months, the transformation over one night was mind boggling. The neighborhood went to sleep with a completed and cleaned up apartment and woke up to a compound that rivaled any in the clan district.

Along with the capped white wall and the beautiful landscaping and the wrought iron gate with the swirl in it was the declaration of whose compound it was because hanging down the side of the building was a black and orange banner. It had the Uzumaki Clan swirl in the center and down the left side was the kanji for "UZUMAKI".


	15. Clan Uzumaki

… **Konohagakure no Sato Council Chambers, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure no Sato**

If it was not for the massive amount of paper work he knew was coming his way, Sarutobi Hiruzen would be enjoying the bedlam that was unfolding before him. Naturally, installing Haku and her clan had been done with ease, no one even blinked at the fact that the new Yuki Clan would be cousins of the Sarutobi Clan, officially.

The assembled village leadership were too preoccupied with the Uzumaki compound that had "popped up overnight." When one fat councilman actual passed out from lack of oxygen due to hyperventilating, he said to himself, "fuck it" and started to laugh. Thinking about the fact that he had not been able to actual tell them the full extent of the situation and their probable reaction to that caused his laughter to become booming.

The booming laughter calmed down the group of people until the only sound has the dying chuckling from the Hokage. His laughter unnerved many, especially those on the civilian council. They were still not accustomed to the new Hokage that had emerged over the previous year. At first, they had thought he hated them but then some of his decisions started to help them. The merchants on the council, for example, all reported increased profits. But the man had become ruthless as well and three families had been brought near bankruptcy and of course there was the Yoshihara family whose name was still whispered with fear among the civilians.

The current meeting was because of two things. The first was that the history of the Uzumaki Clan and its relationship with Konoha had been released by the Hokage's office as a free booklet. And second was that Uzumaki Naruto had basically publicly declared that not only is he an actual Uzumaki, but he is the head of the Uzumaki Clan. No other message could be received from the banner he had hung from his building.

The shinobi council was less crazed than the civilians but even those who knew about Uzumaki Kushina and that she was Naruto's real birth mother did not know that she was the heir to the Uzumaki Clan. They had just thought she was a displaced clan member. "So many secrets are finally going to see the light", he though ruefully and with a dose of regret as he could no longer remember or justify why they had been kept.

Hiruzen was going to enjoy what he was about to do. "Friends and comrades of Konohagakure no Sato", he began and eyes widened at the official start to his words. "It is finally time for the truth to be told. As many of you know but too many of you do not or have forgotten, the Uzumaki Clan is one of the oldest allies of Konohagakure. In fact, our great village owes its early survival to the skill, loyalty and dedication of the Uzumaki Clan."

He could see younger members turn to look at older members and be surprised at the confirmation they were receiving. The powerful village leader and elder quickly explained the strength and prowess of the Uzumaki Clan and how they helped the Shodai Hokage Senju Hashirama to secure the village in the beginning. Something none of the other shinobi clans could claim to have done.

He then explained Konoha's greatest failure and why the Chunin and Jōnin vests carried the red swirl. That it represented the blood lost due to the village's failure to protect true allies. Then he dropped the bomb. Uzumaki Naruto may not be the last Uzumaki in the elemental nations, but he was the heir to the position of clan head. His mother Uzumaki Kushina, the red death, was the heir when she was spirited away to be protected by Konoha during the final siege of Uzushiogakure.

"Bomb #1" Hiruzen thought.

"Naruto's father was her husband, who she married in a secret ceremony witnessed by myself, Jiraiya of the Sanin, Tsunade of the Sanin, Inuzuka Tsume, Uchiha Mikoto and Hatake Kakashi. His name was Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage." Hiruzen said with a smile.

Silence. If silence could have a volume and intensity like sound, the silence in the room would have been like standing next to a thunder clap. Hiruzen could see heads shaking in disbelief. Closed eyes that tried to block out a world that they did not want to face. He saw a few mouths open in preparation to rebut the declaration, but Hiruzen had put clear emphasis when he declared himself a witness to the wedding and no one dared challenge the word of the "new" Hokage.

One foolish younger civilian spoke and after a few words it was clear the man was about to suggest that perhaps Kushina had cheated on the Yondaime, but before he could sign his own death warrant, a counselor next to him covered his mouth. The man seemed irritated until he felt the killing intent that had been slowly growing from Inuzuka Tsume. Like Hiruzen, Tsume was still awash with guilt that she had not been more helpful to her friend's son and she was ready to murder anyone who would speak ill of Kushina.

"Bomb # 2" Hiruzen thought

"Due to the many enemies the Yondaime had, including practically all of Iwagakure, and the fact that the Namikaze are not a recognized shinobi clan, I decided that Naruto's birth father would be kept secret until such time as both he and Konoha was able to protect him. That time has come." Hiruzen continued.

"I had planned to wait until Naruto-kun achieved the rank of Chunin, but two things have happened to move up the time table. The first is that his Jōnin sensei has declared him strong enough and I have declared Konoha strong enough. The second is what happened on Team 7's, mis-ranked mission to Nami no Kuni."

Hiruzen then gave a brief recap of the what happened in the land of wave. Including showing the Kubikiribōchō. The shinobi clan heads were suitably impressed and a few promised themselves to get the full report to read. Asuma's standing among them grew as well when they heard how he was able to change a disastrous C-rank mission and turn into two successful missions, an A-rank and an S-rank. Successfully completing an S-rank mission, on the fly, with a Genin team was an enormous achievement.

Then Hiruzen went on to explain what Uzumaki Naruto found in the ruins of Uzushiogakure, and it was bedlam again. No one dared call Naruto "demon brat" any longer, especially in the presence of the Hokage, but many a civilian were thinking it when it was announced that the boy had found the kitsune contract. The origins of the kitsune were not known by many and none in the council chamber, but the legend had drifted near the truth based only on the fact that the Kyuubi had multiple tales and was a fox and those characteristics were shared by the kitsune.

For many on the civilian council, the mere fact that the boy had found the kitsune contract was all the evidence they needed. Their fear and anxiety ramped to hatred and then dead-ended on impotence. Because no matter the righteous indignation, they could do nothing. The shinobi as a group backed the Hokage almost completely. The few civilians born shinobi willing to challenge the Hokage openly were neither skilled enough or powerful enough to really try.

"The kitsune struck a bargain with Naruto-kun" Sarutobi said. On the inside he was screaming in glee. "They thought the bomb was that Naruto found and signed the contract. Tee hee" the man thought. Then he explained the bargain. The kitsune, a group of powerful humanoid women would be the only women allowed to bare children for the Uzumaki Clan with Naruto. 10 of them would become the Uzumaki wives.

" _Wait for it. Tee hee."_

"Naruto agreed but got a concession as well. Only the Namikaze Clan will ever be able to sign the kitsune summoning contract. The kitsune will accept no other signer."

" _Boom. Oh, look at Danzo's face. Koharu looks like she is about to have an aneurysm. Tee hee."_

Hiruzen got his mind back on task. "The Uzumaki have always been a shinobi clan and I move that we recognize that it has returned and offer Uzumaki Naruto all the aid we can as he works to bring his clan back to greatness. The addition of Kitsune blood will no doubt make them a powerful clan and ally to have." He said with authority. There was nothing to be done. The Uzumaki were indeed a clan and longtime ally.

Hiruzen continued with glee. "Also, I move that the Namikaze Clan be installed as a true shinobi clan of Konoha. The power and skill of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato is already showing true in his son. In addition, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto was earned for himself a powerful power that is tied to his family line alone. While a summoning contract is not a kekkei genkai it is a power we would be fools to not claim for Konoha."

Again, even though many of the civilians were appalled at what was happening, no one could deny the argument. Shimura Danzō who had been scowling since the beginning of the meeting finally found some hope as he eagerly agreed to the elevation of the Namikaze clan. Once it was agreed upon, the war hawk made his move. Controlling the family that exclusively had the kitsune contract would be invaluable. "I move that the last Namikaze be put under the Clan restoration act." He said.

"I am sorry Danzō-san, but that won't be possible." Hiruzen said with a foxy grin of his own. Danzō could not fathom why his motion was denied in such a way. The Hokage didn't say he wouldn't allow it. The man said it wasn't possible. "The clan restoration act can only be applied to unattached last members of clans who are not making a reasonable effort to repopulate their clan. And Naruto-kun is already engaged to Hyuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura".

" _Bomb 4. Tee hee"_

… **Outskirts of Konohagakure**

At the same time of the council meeting where the future of his two clans were being discussed, Naruto, Hinata and Sakura were walking through the woods outside the eastern wall of the village. They were walking around looking for a shrine. An Uzumaki shrine.

They knew it was there and what it was, surprisingly, hiding because Naruto was a level 10 seal master. After exhausting themselves with each other's bodies, Naruto had decided to use his day off to conduct the administrative duties around the re-establishment of his clan. So he went to the Konoha Bank to audit what was in the Uzumaki vaults.

… **Flashback**

… **Konohagakure Central Bank, Konohagakure**

Naruto had a long standing and good relationship with the Bank. Bankers are generally not the most exciting people but they prided themselves on their professionalism. Naruto had been dealing with the Bank since he had been kicked out of the orphanage and was forced to learn to take care of himself. His home was not a safe place for his money. It hadn't been a safe place for him, really, but because of that he had been given a bank account early on for his stipend.

Naruto had never pranked the bank or brought the chaos that followed him to the doors of the bank which only helped his relationship with the institution. Also, the bank was one of the few civilian businesses that no one, or group, tried to intimidate into changing the way they dealt with Naruto. The bank was as dangerous to most civilians as the shinobi were.

Word had already reached the bank of Naruto's claim of being a true Uzumaki as he had made a rather clear declaration and word in the village traveled fast. The president of the bank had gotten an ANBU delivered note from the Hokage confirming the truth of it. The man was very proud of his decision to have the bank and its employees treat the boy well. Even in the days before the Hokage began to crack down. It had been because the boy was a favorite of the Hokage, but it seemed he was also the sole heir to a very large fortune being kept in the bank.

Naruto was received with an additional level of respect when he entered the bank and he smiled as it showed that he would not have to go through any hoops to prove his claim was true. He had a feeling he had his Jiji to thank for the lack of red tape. He was met by the bank president Iwasaki Akihisa, who ushered him into a conference room.

In the room, in addition to the bank president, was Isa Kakuei who was his current account manager. The man was a low level bank employee but had a good rapport with Naruto. Naruto was sure the man was about to get a promotion as he would insist that he remain the account manager for the Uzumaki holdings. The bank manager was a smart man and suspected that as well.

"Uzumaki-sama, the Hokage has confirmed that you are the rightful heir to the Uzumaki Clan and so we would like to go through your holdings with you and make some decisions about what you would like to do?" Akihisa-san began. What followed was a boring two hours of scroll signing. Not only did he have to be made the primary account holder, but with the Uzumaki account active again, he had to make decisions about what to do with it. Basically, Naruto had to decide how to invest his money.

Finally after that was done, Naruto was taken to the Uzumaki vault. For any other family that had been considered "dead" the vault would have been closed and the funds "redistributed" but the Hokage had not had to intervene to prevent that as the Uzumaki were so well respected that the bank would have kept the vault in perpetuity just to honor the Clan.

The vault was itself very simple and exactly like the vaults that surrounded it but what Naruto found inside was far from simple. Most family's did not have a vault because all there fortune was in ryō and was managed via ledger. The Uzumaki, and clans like the Hyuga, needed a vault because they had gold, jewels and precious metals. The large stacks of gold bars impressed Naruto but not as much as the ingots of what was, the far more valuable, chakra metal.

The vault also contained some suits of armor, rugs, banners, weapons and other heirloom items. Naruto instructed the bank representatives to have that delivered to the new Uzumaki compound. Naruto found one scroll and was surprised by that. The scroll was small and when he opened it looked to be the letter that came with Kushina when she was sent to Konoha. He was about to put away to keep, when he noticed something.

He had completed his fūinjutsu training and achieved level 10. His skill level allowed him to see that there was a seal hidden on the parchment. He sealed the scroll away and returned to his home. When he released the seal on the letter he found another letter that explained where the remaining Uzushiogakure treasure was hidden.

… **End Flashback**

… **Uzumaki Ichizoku no Nōmendō, Shrine, Outskirts of Konohagakure**

The shrine was named the Uzumaki Ichizoku no Nōmendō. It was built at the height of the Uzumaki family and the relationship between Uzushiogakure and Konohagakure. It had been built to hide something dangerous in plain sight but if one looked underneath the underneath they would have been suspicious that it held more secrets.

Naruto carefully packed away the 27 masks while Sakura and Hinata moved around the dilapidated building. Similar to the effort made in the ruins of Uzushiogakure, the girls collected items that had no real value except that they represented Naruto's clan and family. They returned to the main room when Naruto called them.

They watched in awe as he marked a section of the wall with his blood before saying in a strong, clear voice "Fūin". The entire floor of the shrine sank and became stairs to a secret chamber. When the three went down the stairs, Hinata expressed all of their thoughts when they reached the bottom of the stairs and she breathed out "Woah".

… **Hokage's Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled to himself as he sat in his office. He was currently (forced to be) in a meeting with the three village elders. The tension was thick in the meeting and Hiruzen would probably be letting his irritation show if Yuyu hadn't give him such a soft, warm and wet prep session. After her tenderness, not even Danzō could bring him down.

It did not hurt that he could see the frustration in all of their faces as they struggled to fix the damage that had been done to whatever plans they had been hatching behind his back. He did not know what they had tried to do but the frustration at its failure was clear. With the recent happenings he had no doubt it revolved around his adoptive grandson Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto.

The news of his true heritage had hit the village with even greater force than it had hit the council chambers. Among her many skills, Yuyu was an excellent writer and the statement she had written on behalf of the Hokage's office regarding Naruto had been designed to pluck at heartstrings before cutting some of them.

In some ways, Danzō was right about him. He was soft hearted. Especially in regard to the village he had sworn to protect and he did not have the desire, or "day he say", the will, to shame or hurt them. But Yuyu did not have the same forgiving nature. She also knew how to stroke the fire of his passion and all it took was a reminder of Naruto's early life to get the Hokage to approve her version. It held nothing back and was a blistering critique of the village as much as it was an announcement of Naruto's status.

"The Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato gave his life to protect the village and in the same moment gave the life of his own son to seal that protection. He chose his son because he could not bear asking another family to carry a burden he would save his son from…"

"The hero of the leaf had only one request in exchange for his sacrifice. Love and protect his son. Treat his precious boy as a hero for having a father that would sacrifice him to protect their lives..."

Yuyu did not stop there. She wrote about every incident that had happened to Naruto. Every time the Yondaime's last request was ignored and every time his legacy was disrespected. The statement took up an entire edition of the newspaper. In the same article, she dedicated an equal amount of attention to Naruto's Uzumaki heritage. The story of the fall of Uzushiogakure and the failure of the leaf village to be as honorable and loyal as its oldest allies. How that stained honor was made more so by the purposeful removal of Uzu's history from Konoha's education system.

"Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto's family on both sides had given every last member to the Shinagami to protect Konohagakure no Sato, and this village, our village, my village, we have failed to do even the very least in return…"

There had almost been riots. Naruto stayed inside the building that had become the Uzumaki Clan stronghold. The large swirl on the Uzumaki banner becoming like an accusing eye over the village. Asuma had extended Team 7's time off to a week to give the situation time to calm. The absence of the normally over energetic Uzumaki Naruto only added to cloud of judgment and accusation.

In the meeting with the elders, Hiruzen looked at the three retired shinobi. He knew that they had once been united in their desire to see his grandson removed from the village proper. Now that alliance had broken. Danzō still wanted the boy as a weapon but Homura and Koharu had changed. The two were worshipful of shinobi clans, as evidenced by the way they had coddled the last Uchiha.

If they had known Uzumaki Naruto was actually UZUMAKI Naruto they would have done the same for him, regardless of what he contained. Similarly, had they known that the Yondaime had a son, they would have pushed to give the Namikaze name clan status earlier. Both failures in one boy had taken a toll on them as much as it had the rest of the village. The Sandaime would never make excuses for the mistakes he made with Naruto but he would also never regret keeping his grandson away from the machinations of the three people sitting in front of him.

Sarutobi had planned to announce Naruto's heritage at the Chunin exams and even though he would not have been as "hard" as Yuyu in the words he would use, he now realized that the reaction probably would have been similar and that would have been embarrassing to have the village in emotional upheaval in front of the entire elemental nations.

As it was, the matron of the orphanage that kicked Naruto into the streets when he was four had committed ritual suicide. So did two former ANBU and a member of the merchant guild. Inuzuka Tsume was planning to do the same but word got to Naruto and he stopped her. Instead he got a promise that every second child of the Uzumaki Clan head would receive a ninken from then on. It was a testament to Naruto's understanding and respect for the debt of honor owed that he asked so much and the Inuzuka Clan elders agreed since it was a request worthy of the life of their clan head.

Naruto had come to him after that and told him what he had found in the Uzumaki shrine. The Uzushiogakure treasure was much larger than even Hiruzen had known and Naruto had found its location hidden behind a complex seal on the letter that had come with his mother. Hiruzen had been amazed when Naruto brought him to see it.

There were the standard gold bars and chakra metal ingots that made up most treasures but in larger quantities than the older man had ever seen. Jewels and fine materials as well. But what Hiruzen knew to be the most valuable was the library. He had no idea what books and scrolls it contained but Uzu was famous for its power and knowledge in more than just the sealing arts and the section of the hidden cache had been bigger than every other section of treasure combined.

He was looking through the library in awe proving that his moniker of "the professor" was well earned as he treated the books with much more reverence than the piles of typical wealth. That was when Naruto shared with him a great secret that still shocked him and yet answered so many questions. For someone like him it was a bit of knowledge that he considered a precious gift.

… **Flashback**

… **Hidden Treasure Room, Beneath Uzumaki Ichizoku no Nōmendō, Outskirts of Konohagakure**

"Jiji, look at this." Naruto called to him breaking him of the spell the large collection of books had put him under. He turned and found himself in the section of the library that represented the greatest achievement of the Uzumaki. The Fūinjutsu section.

"The Uzumaki Fūinjutsu ranking system goes up to 13" Naruto began "But it's not one to one with the standard ranking. I am a level 10 Fūinjutsu master in the standard ranking but only a level 8 in the Uzumaki ranking system." Hiruzen looked at his honorary grandson in surprise. He knew the Uzumaki were leagues ahead but had not realized it was by that much.

"That is because it takes over one million hours of study to become a level 10 Fūinjutsu master under the Uzumaki ranking system. That is over a hundred years of continuous study." Naruto could see his Jiji's eyes widen at the impossibility so Naruto explained. "The key is the larger than normal chakra reserves of the Clans of Uzushiogakure. And my favorite jutsu. With 100 clones a day, it takes an Uzumaki 4 years of dedicated study to achieve level 10."

Naruto told the Hokage that he was currently working on gaining that level. He did not tell the man that with his godly chakra reserves and the 6000 clones he could produce, it had taken him 8 hours to reach level 10 and achieve the title, Uzumaki Sutairu Fuin no Masutā.

They had snuck away to do this as the villagers were still in state of depression and Naruto was still acting incognito within the village. Naruto turned to his jiji and told the Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, why he had brought him there. "It's time to bring the Uzushiogakure treasure home and I think it should travel in style." Naruto said with a foxy grin.

… **End Flashback**

"Style it had been" Hiruzen thought. Naruto had summoned 100 Kitsune. All of them having between 3 and 7 tails. They had transformed into their fox forms to escort the treasure from its hiding place. Horses pulled the carts, piled high with the uncovered treasure. At the head of the procession was the boss summon in her Kitsune form with her 20 tails flapping in the breeze and her nodashi across her back. Behind her, 4 ten tailed Kitsune each carried the banner of one of the four main clans that made up Uzushiogakure.

The parade had been grand and after the days of depression and self-recrimination it had been exactly what Konohagakure needed. Each of Uzu's great family's treasures were headed by that family's banner. Uzuchika, Uzusane and Uzukaatsu and finally Uzumaki. A line of carts filled with scrolls and chests and bolts of silks and furs, and lots of gold. Then the massive library. The spectacle ended at the new Uzumaki compound where it went down a ramp at the side of the building and out of sight.

Konoha had returned to a bit of normality after that. Hearts still needed healing and many still felt shame but the malaise that had descended lifted. Hiruzen once again was amazed at the ability of Naruto to touch hearts and minds. Well most of them he thought as he noticed another scowl from Danzō and the pensive looks from Homura and Koharu. He wondered if the three were thinking of the same thing as he was. They weren't.

Danzō wanted the Jinchūriki under the control of Konoha, more specifically himself, and did not like the thought of the boy having a clan. He also wanted the Uzumaki treasure to be in the hands of Konoha as well. He did not share the love for the Uzumaki that everyone else had as they had never joined the village and remained only as allies. Something Danzō viewed as suspicious. That the Kyuubi container intended to continue that separation did not sit well with him. Too much power was consolidating in the boy's hands.

Homura wanted to break the agreement between Naruto and the Kitsune. Similar to Danzō, he wanted the Uzumaki Clan to become a full part of Konoha and believed the best way to achieve that was to have Naruto re-populate the clan through the village. Haruno Sakura would have made a perfect wife for the Uzumaki Clan. She was a civilian shinobi from an established civilian clan. Along with a similar young woman from a civilian shinobi clan like his own or even the Sarutobi, it would have been perfect. Unfortunately, even if Homura could get a girl close enough to the boy to become pregnant, he would just declare the child part of the Namikaze Clan. His inability to control the situation did not sit well with him.

Koharu was ready to abandon the village. It had fell to decadence and perverseness and most days she was too embarrassed to leave her home. The "Snake Whore's" efforts in the academy had become like a disease and had spread throughout the village. The clan heirs change in style had spread through their clans as had the change in attitude. The change in the main clans caused a change in the minor ones and before long the civilians were following along as well. People were dressing inappropriately and even the hot springs had opened a coed section. Many of the people who had once agreed with her anti-pervert stance had been converted and it seemed like the only person in the village still on her side was the genjutsu mistress, Yuhi Kurenai. It did not sit well with her.


	16. Pride and Prejudice

… **Hokage Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto stood in the Hokage's office looking to all like a proper clan head. He was wearing a dark blue with gold pattern hakama with a white haori with matching gold trim. The haori had the new Namikaze crest, designed by Naruto, embroidered on the back. His shoulder length blonde hair was tied up in a top knot.

Naruto was in the Hokage's office to discuss purchasing land in the Clan district to build the Namikaze Clan compound. It was not something that was spoken about but the clan district had a few open lots that had belonged to clans that had died out and the two were discussing the merits of which lot to take over. With the Hokage's advice he had narrowed the search down to two large lots.

In the middle of the discussion, the door was kicked open and short kid in a scarf leapt at the Hokage with a Kunai. To Naruto, the Hokage and the three ANBU guards in the room. The kid looked like he was moving in slow motion. It was clear he was not going to land anywhere close to the Hokage and other than Naruto, the entire room new the intruder.

The intruder did not make it that far as he caught his leg in his overly long scarf and fell flat on his face. The embarrassed child jumped back to his feet seeking to find someone to blame for his failed "assassination" attempt and landed on a chuckling Naruto. He was about to blame the man when he recognized him. Before he could speak he groaned as he heard, "Honorable grandson! Honorable grandson!"

His name was Konohamaru, not that anyone in his life seemed to be willing to call him by that name. And he was very embarrassed. He was standing in front of Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, his hero and the coolest guy in the entire village and not only had his attempt to usurp his grandfather failed in spectacular fashion, now he was being called by his "title" by his private tutor who made him sound like a toddler.

A tall man entered the office. He was dressed in standard shinobi gear with his hitai-ate around his head and wearing a pair of rounded dark glasses. Naruto could see the boy deflate at the man's presence and his face go blank as the man started to chastise the boy. That was followed by the man spouting off his resume as an elite training of shinobi that Naruto was sure was for his benefit. The monotone responses of "Hai, Ebisu-sensei" and how it contrasted with the high energy the kid had before the man entered touched Naruto.

Naruto could also see the hero worship that the boy who had been identified as the Hokage's grandson and thus his sensei's nephew. Remembering how much he had wished his own heroes had made time for him when he was that age he stepped in between Ebisu and Konohamaru. He could tell that Ebisu was one of those people that still didn't like him and it made him more committed to his course of action. While blocking Ebisu's view he handed the young kid a note to meet him at Ichiraku Ramen at 4.

When he disengaged and saw the wide happy eyes of the young boy he smiled. The boy showed his worth by winking at him before bolting through the door causing Ebisu to have disengage from the angry staring he was doing and chase his student. Naruto shook his head at the fact that the young excitable boy moved quietly out of the building while the, supposed, "elite instructor" sounded like an idiot yelling "honorable grandson" in a loud whine that sounded like a toddler.

With the office calm again, Naruto turned back to the Hokage who was looking at him with mirthful eyes. The older man had obviously seen what Naruto had done. Without a word the Hokage went back to discussing the new location for the Namikaze compound. In short order Naruto selected both locations. They were next to each other and Naruto had been undecided because one came with its own training ground but the other was on the main road into the clan district. Taking both would mean the Namikaze compound would match the size of the Hyuga and Uchiha compounds. Naruto liked that.

… **Uchiha Clan Compound, Konohagakure**

Uchiha Sasuke was angry. No, he was livid. For 15 years he had been raised to believe that the Uchiha Clan was the elite of the elite and that they simply had been denied their rightful place because of the jealousy of the rest of the shinobi world. Some may have called him arrogant but he had checked his sources and all across the elemental nations, stories of the Uchiha and their Sharingan made sure his Clan was viewed with fear and respect. Something they had been denied in their own home.

Then when he was 5, his brother massacred the entire clan, including his father and mother and then tortured him before running off like a coward into the night. It had disgusted him that his family had finally gotten the recognition they deserved in the village, only after its murder. The civilian council had made sure he knew of the greatness of his clan and he had lived up to that expectation. He had been the best. Until his final year.

"Until this last year." Sasuke thought with anger as he released a fireball at his training target. He had always hated Uzumaki Naruto and he had not known why. The boy had been the dead last of the class, clan-less, unloved by anyone and yet still Sasuke had felt a burning desire to keep the "dobe" under foot. He had listened to his instinct and done everything in his power to keep the fool down. He had gone so far as to encourage his fan girls to hate him and had insisted to his supporters on the council that Naruto not be allowed any relief.

He did not know then, nor did he know now, that his desire had been the reason for the removal of the Uzumaki history from the Academy syllabus. Then something happened. In almost no time the dobe had rocketed to the head of the class, had stolen Sakura from him and had even beaten him, a Uchiha elite, in their one on one spars. That Hinata had also beaten him was something that his mind could not process and continued to suppress.

He swore to himself that he would get stronger. That he would face Naruto again and destroy him. And he felt he had achieved his goal. The next time he met Naruto in battle he had become sure he would defeat him. He growled as he generated another powerful fire ball. His support on the council had diminished but had not vanished and they had finished preparations to goad Naruto into a fight and put the "dobe" back in his place. Then the truth about Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto had been made public.

Just thinking about the name brought fury to Sasuke. "How dare he be of a famous clan." Sasuke charged the training dummy. "How dare his clan be more respected than mine" strike! "How dare he have helped to kill Mimochi Zabuza." Kick! "How dare he have found the Kitsune summoning contract" The angry young shinobi flew through some hand seals and yelled, "Gōka Mekkyaku" (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation)

"How dare I not get this powerful on my own" Sasuke announced to the empty Uchiha training field as he breathed heavily. But it was true, he was far more powerful than he had been when he left the Academy and it was because of his Team. Something he hated to admit and would never do publicly.

… **Flashback**

Team 8 had been forced to wait for hours for the arrival of their Jōnin sensei. The man was named Hatake Kakashi and by the time the "true Genin test" began Kiba and Shino knew as much as they could about the man. The investigation had not told them anything except that he was a pervert and had fully supported Anko's efforts in the Academy.

Kakashi's genin test was a thing of legends and other than its existence, neither Kiba nor Shino had been able to find anything about it. Fortunately, Anko's classes had taught more than how to seduce or have sex. It had made the graduating class into better thinkers. So when their sensei presented the test parameters to them, at least two members of the potential Team 8 knew what the test was and what they had to do immediately.

Kiba was against it but Shino made a proforma attempt to include Sasuke in the planning that needed to happen and he completely ignored them. He was angry at how far he had fallen in the academy and saw a victory over his Jōnin sensei as a way to re-establish himself and his clan where it deserved to be. After all "Only an Uchiha could defeat an Uchiha."

While Sasuke, stupidly, made his attempt to battle a Jōnin who had been an ANBU commander and had graduated the Academy at 6, Kiba and Shino brainstormed an idea. They knew team work was the key and they were worried that if they left out Sasuke that they would still fail. They quickly came up with a plan and went to stealthily watch the fight. It wasn't a fight, it was a humiliation. Kakashi beat Sasuke and didn't even put away his book to do it.

When their arrogant "teammate" had been buried to his neck, the two waited for Kakashi to leave before quickly rescuing Sasuke. They thought they might have had to work to manipulate him into attacking again but they were wrong. It amazed them that the "last loyal Uchiha" could be so reckless and blind. But it worked for their plans.

They goaded him to make sure he attacked in the way they wanted and then used the Uchiha's wild rage fueled attack to their advantage. Shino knew that Kakashi would guard against his bugs when coming from him so he hid a dozen on Sasuke and had them move to Kakashi during his fight. When the bugs drained a significant amount of chakra, Kiba and Shino attacked.

Sasuke had been beaten again and Kakashi had his guard down since he didn't realize they were working together. That plus the depleted chakra, plus Kakashi's lack of intent to actually hurt them put them on almost equal ground. They would have still lost, but Akamaru acted as their final secret weapon. He hid in a dirt hole he dug for himself and when the fight passed jumped and grabbed the bells.

… **End Flashback**

Sasuke had been livid that they had used him in their plan. He was an Uchiha elite and he could have captured the bells if they had stayed out of his way. Instead they had used him. They even told him how they had manipulated him. After Kakashi had left he had attacked in a rage. He had thought he could take them. The truth was that he could take them individually, as a team he could not beat the both of them at the same time. Something they taunted him with after they had tied him down.

Angry and humiliated again, he complained to his guardians on the council and found that they could do nothing. "If you had been partnered with clanless losers like Uzumaki or Haruno…" they told him. But the councilors had little power to push against the Inuzuka clan or the Aburame clan, much less both. He had showed up the next day still angry and planning to attack them again after training that day.

Kakashi-sensei showed up 4 hours late to their first training as a team and gave them very little actual training before taking them on their first D-rank mission. The entire day had been useless to Sasuke and, because of his frustration, it wasn't until he returned home that he remembered he had planned to attack his teammates separately to teach them a "lesson". He was distracted again the next day when a furious Hatake Kakashi arrived on time and conducted the most brutal training session he had ever endured.

This continued for a week and he had to admit it was exactly what he wanted. So pleased was he that he actually participated in the team building training as well. At the end of the week, he learned that Kiba and Shino had both complained to their clan heads about Kakashi's lateness and useless teaching. None of the two clan heirs knew what was said or done to Kakashi but the man had been brutal ever since. For Sasuke it reminded him of his father's methods and so he respected it.

Unfortunately, none of what Kakashi was doing did anything to curtail Sasuke's arrogance or sense of entitlement. The closest that was achieved was that the Uchiha decided that as clan heirs Kiba and Shino were worthy of being on a team with him. Then Kakashi showed up one day and sent the other two home early. The man looked at him with cold eyes and said, "I am going to unlock a second tomoe to your sharingan, or I will kill you"

… **Flashback**

Kakashi attacked him for a nonstop twenty minutes. And Sasuke was having his ass handed to him. It was brutal and painful. The last Uchiha kept believing that he was just being given the special treatment he deserved and then his arm broke. Kakashi did not stop, nor did the blank look leave Kakashi's face. That was when Sasuke made two realizations.

The first was that Kakashi might actually kill him because the man was not stopping. The second was he finally admitted, to himself at least, that his teammates were right about the futility of expecting to beat a former ANBU Jōnin by yourself when you are a newly graduated Genin. His next thought was "I am going to die". Then the world became 100 times clearer and he was able to block Kakashi's strike.

The man turned and walked away from him. "See you tomorrow" was all he said. Sasuke had looked at himself in the mirror for 3 straight hours admiring his eyes and reaffirming his plan to kill his brother. By the time he went to sleep his arrogance had caused him to "forget" the help he needed to mature his eyes. Kakashi gave him exactly what he wanted the next day when he announced they would be sparring each other. Sasuke had demanded that he fight both of his teammates, determined to show them the power of the sharingan and that they were nothing before him now.

… **End Flashback**

He had gone home that night angry. He had lost again. It never occurred to him that Kiba and Shino were getting stronger as well. And it pissed him off. He knew his brother could destroy the two boys with no effort and he was livid about that fact. After that he just remained quiet. The next time he instigated a challenge against them it would be to beat them down and teach them the might of the Uchiha clan. Until then he would just keep getting stronger.

They completed a lot of C rank missions and other than Team 7, Team 8 had been the most successful at the stealth and infiltration mission against the Konoha ANBU. They had even completed a couple B rank missions which made Sasuke feel smug. He felt that it was only right when Kakashi announced that he was entering them in the Chunin exams as rookies.

… **Home of Sarutobi Asuma, Konohagakure**

Kurenai headed toward Asuma's home. She had heard that he was back from his mission with Team 7 and she desperately wanted some normalcy. Her own team was stretching the limits of her patience. It wasn't that they did not work hard or that they were not skilled, it was the perversions. It seemed like no test, practice or mission she gave them was not solved without using some form a perverseness. And what made it worse was that they were all successful beyond her wildest expectations.

"No" she thought "What's worse is that the instigator of all the perverseness is Ino." Shortly after her team had passed her real Genin test, "by getting naked, for some reason! It was a genjutsu, for kami's sake" was Kurenai's angry thoughts, Ino and Chōji had broken up. She was not surprised in the least. Even after what happened, she believed Chōji had broken up with her due to his ascension to full Genin and his hopes to use his new status to take advantage of young civilian girls.

Kurenai had unthinkingly come down hard on the boy for "using Ino for his perverse desires" and had been slapped by Ino. Actually slapped. The three had then left and went straight to their parents. She wanted to argue that they were using their clan status against her but then she learned that the only complaint they had made was that she refused to listen when it came to Ino's sexual choices and kept blaming the boys for things they did not do.

It had been a mess. She had been called into the Hokage's office and told in no uncertain terms to leave her personal feelings at home and do her job of training the Genin she had been assigned. She had not had to face the "new" Hokage before that meeting and she was still reeling from the difference between the "grandfather" figure she remembered and the "God of Shinobi" he could turn into.

It almost fell apart again when she met with her team after the issue was "settled" only to find Ino and Chōji having sex. She had arrived early for their training session and had been sickened at what she saw. She was about to castrate Chōji when Ino head spun and their eyes met. She could not understand why Ino would be the way she was, but she could not deny the warning she had received in that look.

She left and came back at the right time and found her three Genin hanging out happily and waiting for her. Frustrated she had demanded answers and almost immediately wished she hadn't. As it was explained to her, the three of them had grown up together as the children of the InoShikaCho team and because of that Ino saw the two boys, and them her, as siblings. The short relationship between her and Chōji had made that abundantly clear to all of them. So, they couldn't really date. But Ino wasn't going to give up on the really good sex and neither were the boys.

She had been brutal in her training that day. Deciding that Ino was everything wrong about a kunoichi and the boys were horrible for succumbing to their base "man-ness". But it had been her that returned to her home exhausted. They had taken everything she through at them with professionalism. Even behind her anger she could see that she had an exceptionally talented trio of Genin.

Since the three each had clan techniques as their primary shinobi skill, her responsibility was to refine their chakra control, and thus their control over their techniques, to a knifes edge. The selection committee had been wise. Kurenai was a genjutsu mistress but that was because she had near perfect chakra control and she exclusively ran her team through hours upon hours of chakra control exercises. Even their D-rank missions were just excuses for her to push chakra control.

For a mission where they had to paint a fence, she made the three Genin paint the fence by attaching paint to their feet and applying it by walking up the vertical fence. Releasing the paint without falling had been one the hardest things they had ever done. When Shikamaru discovered that he could use his shadow as an appendage, she made him pick pears with it, demanding that he throw away the bruised ones.

For Chōji, who she still was angry at, she made him complete every task while using his multi size technique, especially the chakra control exercises. Eventually he was able to control his expansion. The technique normally multiplied the muscle mass in every direction turning the user into a literal ball of compact muscle. With the increase in chakra control Chōji learned control the increase in muscle mass, making the boy's mass increase look like a bodybuilder. He could still become round, but the ladies definitely preferred the muscle head look more. He was most powerful as a sphere of chakra enhanced muscle and Kurenai's training allowed him to maintain an impressive dexterity even in that form.

Every D-rank and eventual C-rank mission they did, Kurenai included chakra control challenges like that and it exhausted her coming up with new ones. Especially since her students loved it and responded so well to them. It would have been fine if the three of them didn't insist on seducing every client and if they were training alone, they would seduce each other or plan out the seduction of some random girl. Shikamaru was the worse as he started wearing unbuttoned Hawaiian shirts on every D-rank mission with a "puka shell" necklace. Kurenai did not know why but it seemed to drive the girls crazy. Ino included.

She learned again never to ask about their behavior because she would get more information than she wanted. Asking about the Hawaiian shirt and necklace was how she learned that Ino was on a mission to get her two "brothers" laid as much as possible. Ino dubbed Chōji "Safe and Sexy" for his teddy bear attitude and dubbed Shikamaru "Laid Back" for obvious reasons. She was playing wingman for them and would join in with whichever guy got the hottest girl for the night. She had even taken a hand in their diets, especially Chōji's, and Kurenai had literally fled from her Genin when the girl started to brag about how she had refined both boy's "taste".

Ino's individual sexual record was growing legendary as well though Ino didn't count it because it was too easy for her to get fucked when she wanted to. Kurenai refused to listen to who she had slept with after Ino started to heavily imply that she had bedded Kakashi. On top of it all, the civilian that Chōji and Ino had been sharing was also still around and had become like a camp follower that all three of them would use as they saw fit. Kurenai was able to ban her from missions but could not justify excluding her from training. In truth the girl was a godsend as she tidied their area and kept them hydrated.

For their first C-rank mission she took them on a border patrol mission to clear a shipping route. She wanted to get them away from the village and all the perverted things they were doing. They found a bandit camp and Kurenai made the mistake of letting her team plan and execute the take down of the camp. Before she knew what was happening Ino had stripped naked and walked right in. By the time the group of horny stupid bandits knew what hit them, Chōji and Shikamaru had killed them all.

She would have thought that the behavior of her team would have led to a bad reputation. Especially for Ino, who Kurenai considered a complete slut. Ignoring that she was perpetuating unequal stereotypes between her male and female students. However, it did not matter because the attitude had permeated all over the village. Ino was adored by everyone, but more amazingly, she was respected by men and women alike.

For years Anko had told her that "women did not need to be saved" because she believed they were just as perverted as men and people like her were hurting women more than men with their anti-pervert vendetta. She had thought it foolish, but it was women she saw walking around with the little orange books more than men, now. And like Ino, the women were treated with respect, except for the fact that men did not curtail their language around them. But then the women gave as good as they got.

She had even seen a group of women giggling with Kakashi of all people while he read the filth aloud to them at a park. She desperately wanted to murder him for what she was sure he did to Ino, but the girl was a shinobi and thus an adult. It had been beaten into her head that Ino was definitely willing and completely aware of what she was doing. Besides Kakashi was a suspicion, there were at least three Chunin, a Jōnin and an ANBU that Kurenai knew for a fact had been bedded by Ino.

With her mind in turmoil, she reached Asuma's door. She was sure he would shield her from the madness for at least a little while. The man had a crush on her and would be a perfect gentleman for her. She knew he only behaved like that in hopes that she would fall for him and she had entertained the thought of dating him but believed that if she ever gave him that type of hope he would start to succumb to his perverted-ness. All men were pigs, in her mind, and if she ever allowed one to get close he would just revert to type and start demanding things of her. Asuma was the son of the Hokage and could be trusted, but only to an extent.

She knocked on the door and nearly cried when it opened. A woman, "no a child", answered the door. The girl could not have been older than 14 and was wearing a ridiculously short yukata made of black silk with blue flowers on it. The yukata was open and caught on the girl's small bare breasts hooked precariously on the girl's hard nipple. She was wearing a matching pair of tight silk panties that were currently displaying a "cameltoe". Kurenai growled and tried to leap past the girl to kill Asuma.

When the knock sounded through the home, Haku happily answered the door for her master. She liked the expanded role he had given her. In the field, she was his weapon. Sharp and able. But in the peace of their village and home she was, once again, a tool for his dreams and desires. He liked her to walk around the house dressed in lingerie and wanted her to answer the door the same. She did it because he desired it, but she had found she liked the admiring looks his friends gave her. Haku was disturbed by the growl. It was rude. So was the killing intent. She moved to stop the attacker.

Asuma was in the back yard of his home with a squirrel sized version of Kazetatsu. He did not have to train his wind spirit but he found that he was doing so anyway. It was as if he had a dog. He knew he could be seen by neighbors, passing ANBU, etc., which was his true reason for being outside as he was. Eventually he wanted to use Kazetatsu's true power in battle and to do that, without too many questions being asked, he had to be seen growing the power. Besides, it was a fun way to hint at the power he now possessed and impressing his friends and family.

Word had already reached his father, who had been excited at the new use for his wind release affinity. He had demurred to the older man that he was still working on getting it up to a level that was useful in a fight. A positive side effect was that like training a pet, his continuous use of the wind elemental spirit was refining his control and bettering their "relationship". He had instructed Naruto to do the same with both of his elementals.

Asuma felt the spike of killing intent before he heard the growl and then he heard a short scuffle before it went silent again. He recognized the growl, as it had stared in many of his perverted dreams until recently, and sighed. He had been avoiding her because he had found what he wanted and no longer wanted to chase after someone who had no real interest in him. At one point he thought, he hoped, he could change her if he could just help her experience the pleasures of sex and relationships but Haku had shown him that he preferred not having to work so hard for affection and really preferred a partner who was as excited about learning about sex as he was about teaching.

He was also aware of what the genjutsu mistress' reaction to his Haku-buki would be and had no desire to deal with it. There was a time, in his youth, where he would have wanted to rub his gorgeous lover in the face of the girls who spurned him but he had matured past that. He was a rare man who had achieved his dream without losing his soul and so he was content to live and let live. But he had just been avoiding the confrontation that would have to happen eventually. With a sigh he moved into his home.

Asuma was wearing a haori that his father had purchased for him. It had the Yuki Clan symbol on the back and the Sarutobi clan symbol on the sleeve. He wore it over hakama pants. Since Naruto's elevation to the head of two clans, the team had chosen to become slightly more formal when not working. Naruto and Asuma wore hakama and haori, while Haku, Hinata and Sakura wore thigh length yukata in semi traditional style with an obi. What Haku wore at the door was result of her removing her obi.

When Asuma arrived on the scene he smiled to himself. Haku had never been rated as a shinobi but she was definitely Jōnin level, if just barely, so an enraged Yuhi Kurenai would not get past her especially with her intent to hurt him so clear and underestimating his Haku-buki. Kurenai was caught in mid leap, half covered in ice and with an ice spike at her throat. Asuma was impressed as Haku had made sure to keep her "prisoner's hands and fingers separated and was in a guarded stance despite having captured the attacker.

Asuma sighed, again, at the rage filled red eyes that were focused on him since he entered. "Will you talk like an adult, or should I just call the ANBU." He clearly had no interest in indulging the woman who tried to attack him in his own home. Part of him regretted asking her. That part of him wanted to just walk out the room and leave the annoying woman to the ANBU. He was pretty sure the red eyed woman saw his rapidly growing ambivalence.

Kurenai's anger left her. She had done it again. She had ignored the woman in front of her, convinced she was a weak slave and it had, again, bit her in the ass. She had a history now and she had no doubt attacking the Hokage's son in his own home would not be treated as "minor". She collapsed on herself. The world was not making sense to her, she was not coping well, and she needed answers. She could never trust Asuma again but he would at least talk to her and maybe she could understand what was happening, so she could come up with better ways to stop it.

She nodded and ignored when Asuma gave "permission" to the little girl to release her. She kept a tight grip on her temper. "I came here to talk. And I find that you are just like the people who drove me here in the first place." She said with disappointment lacing her words. He didn't seem to care. It hurt her that her disappointment in him meant nothing. She turned to the girl, "How old are you, child?" she asked.

Her self-control was pushed to the limit when the girl looked to Asuma for permission to answer. And she nearly cracked at his approving smile at her. He gave a nod and the girl said, "I am 14." Then the girl moved to Asuma's side. Kurenai could see that the girls guard remained up and was ready to strike should she attack. "How could you do this?" She asked the man she had once, at least, respected. Asuma answered that he had done nothing wrong. An explanation of the circumstance that led to Haku being with him did nothing to assuage her anger and disgust. She left right after. Asuma really didn't care. Anko had loved the entire story.

Kurenai headed straight to the Hokage's Tower. She was angry and wanted to strike out at Asuma. What she decided to do, would not do that. It would not even make her feel better. She just felt she had to do something and the only thing available was entering her students in the Chunin exams as rookies. She felt they were more than ready but would have held them back a year for propriety. But propriety was out the window for her. If she had been thinking straight she would have realized that it was a given that Asuma would also enter his students.


	17. No One Is Ready, Except the Genin

… **Conference Room, Intelligence Division Headquarters**

Mitarashi Anko was the last to enter the room. In the room was her boss, Marino Ibiki, Commander of the Torture and Interrogation Unit, Yamanaka Inoichi, the head of the Analysis Team of the Intelligence Division and Nara Shikaku, Jōnin Commander. The three men represented some of the most powerful shinobi that Konoha had. Anko was not intimidated by the high ranking men but she did have great respect for all of them.

When she had returned to the village after separating from Orochimaru, all three of these men had supported her at a time when many wanted to use her as a scapegoat for their hurt and anger over the Snake Sannin's betrayal. Now she was with them again and the Snake Sannin was, again, the reason.

The three men wanted her as part of their task force because it was her efforts that had ultimately led to the discovery of a spy network operating within Konoha. A spy network that, they discovered, was run by Orochimaru. Their choice to include Anko was also justified since it was her curse seal that allowed for the increased security and strength of the village and was why they would be able to stop his plans.

… **Flashback**

Anko entered the home of her favorite former students. Naruto, Sakura and Hinata represented her greatest victory in the fight against prudishness. Hinata, especially, since she had been stolen from the clutches of the "prude queen", which was what Anko called Kurenai. Every time see saw the sexy purple haired girl sauntering her ass around the village, Anko did an internal victory lap.

She was greeted by a shirtless Naruto and a barely dressed Hinata and Sakura and she smiled in self-satisfaction at her work while her eyes drifted over their bodies. If they were a little older, she might apply to join in Naruto's little harem, but they were too young for her, despite the natural skill she had discovered with Naruto when she took his virginity. She was happy with Iruka and their playthings so it was a moot point anyway.

"Anko-sensei, I have something for you and I think you should sit down." Anko noticed the seriousness in Naruto's voice and so she sat. Hinata offered her a cup of tea, which she accepted. Naruto waited for Anko to drink and put the cup down before he said, "I have achieved level 10 seal mastery with my extensive use of shadow clones. That and my father's writings on sealing led me to cracking Orochimaru's seal matrix."

Anko froze. She was no fool and knew what that meant. Her hands started to shake and she was thankful that Naruto had forgone the prank potential and allowed her to put down her cup of tea before telling her. "Yes, Anko, I can remove it and I can do it right now. But I can do something else that will get back at the snake bastard." Anko's eyes hardened and Naruto could see the silent demand for details.

Naruto wanted to chuckle but knew this was no laughing matter for his friend. "The curse seal contains Orochimaru's chakra and that chakra is still bound to him and his will. Through it he is able to cause you pain if you are close enough. The seal, when activated, also increases your chakra reserves and has a function to rapidly refill those reserves. If you let me modify the seal I can leave you with the massive increase to your chakra reserves and also reverse the control function allowing you to not only hurt him when he is close but draw down his chakra."

Anko stared blankly at him for a full minute before the most sinister and evil smile Naruto had ever seen came unto her face. It was joined by the pressure of killing intent mixed with glee which made Naruto feel a bit nauseous. Anko agreed and 4 hours later she was finally free. It would take her three weeks to stabilize her power and skill as she had not only gotten back full access to her own impressive reserves but had those reserves increase to two Kages worth.

… **End Flashback**

The discovery of the spy ring was a result of her discovery of a concerted effort to hinder the education of Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. An unknown spy ring was using that effort to try and set up a condition where they could steal the Forbidden Scroll. It unraveled when the spy, an Academy assistant instructor named Mizuki, was incapacitated due to his interference with Naruto's education.

They had been granted good fortune that the man's take down had been brutal and efficient and most who witnessed it reported that the man was dead. Anko's training caused her to cement that belief as a matter of course even though at the time he was only guilty of crimes against Naruto. Normally that would have been undone but the Hokage was in the midst of making a point when it came to the treatment of his surrogate grandson.

It was soon discovered that those actions had born some unexpected fruit when Mizuki's involvement in a group whose purpose was to undermine the village security for some unknown reason. That was the beginning of the task force. Once again, the Hokage's renewed "will of fire" caused the next break in the case. He cleaned up his offices and with a tighter ship it was not long before it was discovered that mission reports and patrol schedules were being taken.

That hole was left open but the info leaving through it was changed as part of a misinformation campaign. A series of false flags and counter espionage missions led to the discovery of the remaining members of the spy ring and its leader, a med-nin Genin, by the name of Yakushi Kabuto. It had been easy to unravel the spymaster's backstory once they knew who he was, which included his disillusionment with Konoha, likely due to his history with Danzō's ROOT program.

Today's meeting of the taskforce was to address and plan for three issues. The first was that Anko had been freed from her curse mark. The mark had been placed on her by Orochimaru as a "parting gift" when she left him. Not only did it brand her and stand as a shameful reminder of her former association with the "snake bastard" but it also limited her power.

The only way she could have accessed her full power was to use the seal. Something she refused to do. Not only because of her personal pride but because each use of the seal had a corrupting influence that would cause her to become loyal to Orochimaru again. She had avoided the seductive call of her own bound power for 13 years until just recently. She had just regained proper control of her power and was overly anxious to test herself against her old master.

The second issue to discuss was the seal marks that had been placed on a select number of individuals by the unofficial fifth member of the task force. A seal that allowed for a massive increase in chakra reserves, was not one that could be easily overlooked by the village. Orochimaru's cursed seal of heaven was a brilliant piece of fuinjutsu and after Naruto's modifications to it, it had become almost a weapon of mass destruction since it could give the weakest Genin, an S-class shinobi's chakra capacity.

With the Hokage's support the seal had been applied to each of the three men in the room, the Hokage and the entirety of the ANBU. At some point, the program would expand to the entirety of the Shinobi forces but that was not now. The result was that Konoha's entire ANBU force were now above S-rank with more than a quarter being Kage equivalent level, and all of whom had chakra reserves approaching the level of the one-tail raccoon. In the case of the Sandaime he now had chakra reserves that matched the Ichibi.

The final issue for the task force, was the most dangerous and the most mysterious. Kabuto had been entered into the Chunin exams for the seventh time. Unlike the previous six, however, his entrance in the exams came with an increase of stolen intelligence focused on patrol schedules, force size and capabilities.

The entire task force new what that meant. An attack was being planned against Konoha. The mystery was why Kabuto was in the Chunin exams. It would represent a perfect time to execute the attack, so why trap yourself somewhere that's so high profile. Their working theory was that he was going to try to kill the Hokage which was one of the reasons the Hokage had been given the seal as well.

… **Konohagakure Shinobi Academy, Konohagakure**

Naruto, Hinata and Sakura walked together toward the Shinobi Academy. It was where they had been instructed to go to turn in their Chunin applications and where the first stage of the exams would occur. The three were back in their standard shinobi uniforms except in all white. Their entire outfits were in a crisp bright white and even the embroidery was done in white thread as was the collars they wore. Also, even though none of their hoods were up, all three wore their face masks to cover the bottom half of their faces.

It was not just the color though as some additions had been made to their gear. Naruto had completed his training to become an Uzumaki seal grand master (Uzumaki Sutairu Fuin no Masutā) and he had put his knowledge to use. Each of them now wore ANBU style sandals (heeled in Hinata and Sakura's case) with shin guards. The entire thing was covered in seals that increased durability and comfort in equal measures. The same had been done for the gloves both the girls wore, Hinata's still fingerless.

Seals had allowed for the mesh body suit the women wore beneath their uniforms to also become more durable and act as full armor instead of just stab and slice resistance. That was accomplished while making it lighter and thinner, to the point where most people did not think they still wore it. Though it was currently noticeable as it was as white was the rest of the uniforms.

Hinata's shorts and hooded crop top also got upgrades for durability as did Sakura's leotard. And hooded jacket. Storage seals had been woven into their uniforms which meant that they no longer needed to carry pouches and were carrying twice as many kunai and shuriken as they had before.

Hinata was as happy as she had ever been in her life. Feeling his body pressed against her and in her every night was amazing, but being his wife was the culmination of a dream she had hoped for but feared she would never achieve. That her marriage to Naruto was already recognized by the kitsune only made her constantly simmering joy and arousal more all-encompassing.

The announcement of her public engagement to Naruto had not gone over well with her father or the Hyuga elders. And a secret part of her took joy from their anger and impotence as well. Arranged marriages were common in the elemental nations but not so much with shinobi. Marriages that did not meet the approval of the involved parties were unheard of as no one was stupid enough to sleep in the same room as a kunoichi who had been forced to be there.

Her family's reaction had been predictable, but Naruto had already fulfilled his promise to her. Naruto had completed the work to break the cage bird seal completely and Hinata was becoming a seal master with her own clones as she wanted to be the one to eradicate it. It was an angry and terrified group of elders that left the Uzumaki compound after they were incapable of placing the seal on Hinata. The glares they kept sending Naruto and the sinister smile he sent back was all the evidence they needed to know that the famed Uzumaki sealing skill had been employed.

Their next move had been just as predictable. Not even a clan as respected as the Hyuga could survive being caught trying to assassinate a fellow leaf nin and Naruto, especially, was currently immune from political machinations after the announcement of his family lineage and the villages still lingering guilt over its treatment of him. That protection extended to Hinata, since she would be birthing the new clan members.

So, they went after Hanabi. It was well known that despite the fact that Hanabi had begun to be cold toward her that Hinata had her mother's heart and loved her sister very much. The "old bastards" of the Hyuga council had made a beeline for Hanabi hoping to control the "heir" through her sister. They already planned to prevent Hinata from using whatever method Naruto had used on her, on anyone else.

Unfortunately for them, team 7 had already used their skills to infiltrate the Hyuga compound and secretly put the seal on Hanabi that would protect her from any other seals being put on her against her will. After completing it they had woken Hanabi. The girl had been slightly brainwashed by the elders but had been willing to listen. She did not want to believe the elders would put the cage bird seal on her just to control Hinata.

She would later be disillusioned with them and her father when they tried and failed to seal her. After their failure, Hanabi was able to deliver the message that would save her life. "Naruto-sama and my ane have told me to tell you they can break the Cage Bird Seal and they will if anything happens to me." Hanabi had reported later that the elders had fled in fear but she had noticed a sadness in their otousan when she suggested he would kill her in retaliation for her sister's actions. Hinata did not care. Her father had made his choice in regard to her.

… **Second Floor, Konoha Shinobi Academy, Konohagakure**

Team 7 paused to watch as a group of Genin hopefuls tried to get past the obvious genjutsu that had been placed on the second floor class room. Naruto noticed that Team 9 was part of the group trying to get through. That surprised him since that team was known to be highly skilled. And it had Hyuga Neji on it. The boy was a complete asshole as far as Naruto was concerned but he was very skilled and with the Byakugan, he should have been able to see through it.

As if picking up on his confusion, Sakura gave him a long look until it clicked as to what was going on. They were trying to seem less capable than they were. Naruto's first thought was that their attempt was a little bit shallow as anyone who looked closely could see that something wasn't right, even if they were from a different village.

That was when they were noticed by one of the members of Team 9. A boy wearing green spandex and having his hair cut in a bowl style leapt toward them, landing in front of Naruto. "Yosh! You are Uzumaki-Namikaze-sama!" the odd boy announced and Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. "Fight me." The excited boy declared next. Naruto looked at the boy who had taken what looked like a "hero" pose after making his challenge. The boy faltered and almost face dropped when Naruto said, "No"

"I'll fight you" said a voice from behind them. All three of the members of Team 7 rolled their eyes at the voice of the, still, arrogant Uchiha Sasuke as he walked up to them, his aura of self-assuredness practically radiating off of him. Naruto burst his bubble when he snapped. "You will not! The two of you are obviously too stupid to be Chunin if you think It would be a good idea to have an unsanctioned fight outside the Chunin exams before you've even officially entered. Not to mention the foolhardiness of showing your skills to potential rivals."

Sasuke was red in the face and on the verge of exploding when his comeback was interrupted by a pretty girl with her hair tied into buns on either side of her head. "Rock-kun, what the hell are you doing?" The words were soft but the anger was obvious. The green clad boy collapsed on himself. He had already been pouting at Naruto's words and the accusation in his teammates voice was a final nail. He sent a furtive glance toward Sakura, before he hung his head and mumbled "Sorry Tenten-chan"

Sasuke was once again about to blow his top at Naruto for speaking to him that way when a second person in green spandex appeared. What followed was something everyone silently agreed to never speak about. It involved sunlight and declarations that sounded like love. It left Naruto confused as he had noticed the glances the boy named Rock Lee had been giving Sakura.

It also derailed Sasuke who just left in an angry huff, but not before loudly declaring for the two Chunin guarding the door with genjutsu, to "Release the stupid genjutsu, it is too pathetic to fool anyone." It was a petty thing to do and only increased the number of competitors they would face later, but no one who knew Sasuke was surprised. His teammates, Kiba and Shino, who had been quietly snickering since Naruto's outburst just gave Naruto and fist bump and kissed Hinata and Sakura on their cheeks before following their asshole teammate, snickering the whole way.

Tenten took the opportunity to introduce herself and her team to Naruto and his girls. The older man in green, of the unspeakable act, turned out to be their Jōnin instructor, Might Guy. Neji's introduction was strained as he barely held in his contempt for Hinata. Naruto didn't rise to the challenge as he knew the Hyuga Clan was going to be feeling his displeasure soon enough.

Hinata was wearing an outfit so tight fitting that her nipples could be seen as could the small bump of her clit, if one looked close enough, and she still managed to hold herself with the air of royalty in the face of Neji's scorn. That irritated the boy. As Naruto led his girls away, he noticed that Tenten was looking at Neji as if seeing him for the first time.

… **Third Floor, Chunin Exam Room, Konoha Shinobi Academy, Konohagakure**

At the door to the real classroom, Team 7 found Asuma and Haku waiting for them. There were many Jōnin present, probably waiting on their own teams to arrive. The group didn't say much to each other and instead Asuma just gave them a knowing nod and smile before collecting their applications and wishing them luck.

Naruto, Hinata and Sakura entered the room and were surprised at how big it was. None of them remembered being in the room during their academy years. It already had a large number of people in it and still did not feel crowded at all. They did notice that their entrance garnered a lot of attention. They cleared the door and moved to where Kiba and Shino were still smiling at a fuming Sasuke. They registered some killing intent being sent their way but it was pretty pathetic.

Naruto noticed some Iwa nin glaring extra hard at them. He knew it was due to the announcement of who his father was and decided that they should fear him more than his dead otousan. He looked the obvious leader in the eye and blasted a concentrated dose of killing intent at him only. The room jumped when the boy yelped and fell over. Everyone had seen who he was looking at and many snickered at what they believed was Iwa's "fear of a ghost".

After they joined Team 8, they were almost instantly joined by Team 10. Like Naruto and his team, Ino and her team had a relaxed and pleasant attitude. Ino wrapped her arms around Kiba and kissed him on the nose. The two could never be together as they both were too dominant but they were the most shameless around each other when it came to flirting. "Hey little pussy, you want me to lick you back" Kiba growled at Ino.

Chōji and Shikamaru greeted everyone else, Chōji mentioning that it would have been nice to see Team 4 as well, as that would be the entire rookie Genin class. Chōji was the closest with the members of that team and explained that their sensei didn't think they were ready, and that they were OK with it. The nine genin made an impressive sight. Team 7 was the most eye catching in all white and two gorgeous kunoichi, but Team 10 was a close second.

Chōji was wearing ANBU pants and sandals with a mesh shirt. He was still large but it was clear it was all muscle (think NFL defensive lineman body). The most impressive thing about him was his massive arms and hands. Naruto was also able to notice that he had additional bands on his hands and feet with markings that he recognized as gravity seals

Shikamaru was also wearing ANBU pants and sandals but he paired it with an untucked, fitted white button-down shirt with the top three buttons undone. He wore a long black trench coat over it, though a second look and a bit of knowledge about the Nara clan would reveal the coat was made completely of shadows.

It was no surprise that Ino's outfit was the most impressive of her team, at least to the boys. She wore a dark purple catsuit that hugged every curve of her body. She wore thigh high heeled black leather boots with it as well as a matching pair of long leather gloves that reached her bicep. She still had the chakra metal claws on each finger. The master stroke of her gear was what Naruto was sure was a chakra metal chain that came out form her lower back and looked and moved like a cat's tail. He was impressed by the chakra control it would take to keep that going all the time.

Team 8 was not as impressive though Kiba did look like the wild dog to Ino's prissy cat. He wore tight pants similar to Naruto's except with fur around the ankles. He wore a sleeveless armored shirt that had a dog's face molded into the armor and around his neck and shoulders was another tuft of fur. It looked like he had become closer to his animal side because he had extended canine teeth. Akamaru also wore an armored piece that covered his chest and underbelly.

Shino had a similar look to Naruto. Instead of ANBU sandals he wore Jika-tabi style knee-high armored boots. He wore tight lightly armored pants and a sleeveless armored top like Naruto except his top had no hood but did have the half face mask that he always wore. He wore long leather fingerless gloves on his left arm and his right arm was bare. However, his right arm looked slightly deformed as if scared by fire but Naruto and the rest of the rookies knew that was part of his hive. He had committed it completely to the hive and had received an unknown power.

Sasuke wore shorts and a wide collared shirt.

Naruto looked away from Kiba and Ino's escalating flirtation to look at the other Genin in the room. He noticed the increasing aggravation that his group's behavior was causing and smiled before his eyes landed on one particular team. They were from the hidden sand village and he had met them before.

… **Flashback**

Naruto met with Konohamaru as promised and treated the boy to some ramen where they talked about his dreams and how frustrating it was that he was named after the village but no one ever called him by his name. His desire to become Hokage so he could forge a reputation for his own name reminded Naruto a lot of himself.

Naruto recognized the high energy as well and knew instinctively that the method of teaching Ebisu would use, would not work on Konohamaru any more than it worked on him. The boy needed to be active and learn while doing. So Naruto approached him in a way that would work for him. Pranks. Pranks would help almost all of the skills the young boy would need if he wanted to be a shinobi and Naruto told him that. Stealth, evasion, tracking, trap making, etc. Then he taught the boy his emergency diversionary tactic. The Oiroke no Jutsu. Konohamaru had found his inspiration.

Hinata and Sakura found Naruto corrupting the minor and knew that they were too late to do anything when the boy bravely asked Hinata to show him her tits so he could use them to model his "sexy jutsu". When Sakura jokingly asked, "Why not me?", the cheeky bugger replied "Oh, I want you for the ass." Naruto fell over laughing and Sakura lunged at the boy. She was smiling so Konohamaru knew he wasn't in trouble but he liked a good chase and it would start him on Naruto's "shinobi path", so he ran.

The three shinobi heard the sound of bodies colliding as soon as the young boy turned the corner followed by a grunt and a shout of "Put me down" Team 7 came around the corner and found a boy in make-up and a sack on his back holding Konohamaru up by his collar. Next to him was a blonde girl with a fan on her back. She was shaking her head in exasperation.

Naruto really hated bullies. "Put him down" he said in a calm but serious voice. "Why should I? I was just going to teach the little brat a lesson he won't forget", came the response. Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose and said as if talking to a moron, which he thought he was. "You have got to be the worst and most unlucky shinobi in the elemental nations. You come into a shinobi village that is fully staffed by shinobi, ANBU and loyal civilians and even though you are by yourself you decide to pick a fight with a kid, in public. Then to show you are as unlucky as you are stupid, the kid you choose to assault is Sarutobi Konohamaru, the Sandaime Hokage's grandson, who was named after the village."

The boy, Kankuro, knew he had fucked up. His sister, Temari, definitely knew he had fucked up. The last thing they wanted considering the plans in the works was to make waves. Kankuro's pride was about to make him continue anyway as he was not used to feeling in a position of power, when the reason for that joined the discussion.

"You are an embarrassment." The two visiting nin froze in absolute terror at the voice. Naruto knew he was there and could care less. Standing upside down on a branch over a surprised Sasuke's head was a boy with a giant gourd on his back. The boy made a quick motion and was standing in front of the two Naruto was confronting. Konohamaru had escaped the make-up boy's grasp when he froze at the sound of the third boy's voice.

"I am Gaara, son of the Yondaime Kazekage, this is Kankuro and Temari, my brother and sister. Mother calls for your blood and I shall kill you." Then the boy turned and walked away with his siblings following without another word. Team 7 collected Konohamaru and took him for some ice cream. Sasuke fumed at being ignored. Three trees back, three shinobi with music notes on their hitai-ates, watched the seen. Only Sasuke didn't know of their presence. Three trees from that, two ANBU were watching the sound shinobi. Only Team 7 knew of their presence.

… **End Flashback**

It was later that Karumi informed him that Gaara likely contained the Ichibi. Naruto reported that information to Anko who looked at him and nodded. He knew about the suspected attempt on the Sandaime's life and an unrevealed Jinchūriki in the village was not going to be considered a coincidence. The fact that they were from a supposed allied village meant that in addition to an attack and an assassination attempt, Konoha may be facing a betrayal.

Allowing Karumi the opportunity to greater experience his life and especially his passion with his two fiancés had tamed the fierce creature trapped within him. Although if she ever heard him call her "tame", he wasn't sure the seal would be strong enough to keep her in. He wouldn't call her a girlfriend but she did like to visit his dreams and perform erotic dances that would have him wake up eager and ready. He missed her. Then a new person joined their group.

Kabuto was uneasy. Years of work as a spy had honed his "danger sense" and for the last few months it had been going wild. Something about the information he had been gathering had been gnawing at him. The "relighting of the will of fire" as the Hokage's recent behavior had been dubbed was also worrisome as was the emergence of the Uzumaki Clan and the Namikaze Clan. But Orochimaru was about to get an Uchiha and none of his "feelings" were enough to dissuade his master. His master also desperately wanted to kill his former sensei and this plan was the closest he had ever been able to come.

"You are bringing too much attention to yourself." The man said before introducing himself. Each word of the introduction struck the gathered leaf nin as odder and odder. From his shameless revelation that he was currently in his seventh attempt at the Chunin exams to the fact that in the time between exams, instead of becoming better prepared he had instead developed "nin-cards" to coordinate the data he had gathered on all the competitors, including them. The rookies, minus Sasuke, looked at each other. This was all their first time, how would this guy's previous attempts get him info on them.

Sasuke was too busy preparing to make his greatness known to worry about such inconsistencies. So when the man asked if they were interested in information, Sasuke replied "Gaara of the Sand, Inuzuka Kiba, Yamanka Ino and Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto wasn't disappointed that Sasuke would want to gather info on fellow leaf nin. It was behavior he had become used to. He was disappointed at the inclusion of Kiba. Since Kiba was on his team most of the info on the boy would refer to him as well. He was trying brag and it was pathetic.

According to the "nin-card", Gaara had, an impressive, one B-rank, eight C-rank and an unknown number of D-rank missions to his credit. He was also noted to be vicious and had killed 64 people during his missions, many unnecessarily. He also had a reputation for being untouched during all his missions. Sasuke smiled. "As I thought, his presence is intimidating but I've already accomplished more. As it should be." Sasuke thought while smirking at his fellow shinobi.

Inuzuka Kiba's information showed him to be highly skilled but he was just a proxy for Sasuke so the duck-haired boy smiled when Kabuto read off with surprise two B-rank, eleven C-rank and fifty-seven D-rank missions credited to Team 8. Sasuke's smugness continued through Team 10's accomplishments expressed through Ino's card. One B-rank, Nine C-rank and eighty D-rank missions. Kabuto was amazed at the accomplishments of the young genin and then he pulled Naruto's card and nearly choked on what was displayed.

"Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto…" Kabuto read off the details that Sasuke did not care about. "High taijutsu and ninjutsu, kitsune summoner…" Then the bombshell. One S-rank, One A-rank, three B-rank, seven C-rank and two hundred thirty-seven D-rank missions. That gnawing feeling returned to kabuto. He should have known before now that a Genin team had completed a S-rank mission. But he saw the anger in Sasuke's eyes and he had his own mission, so it was time to show him the power he could have.

"That is impressive. Anyone else? I admit I do not have much info on the Hidden Sound Village as they are new and still small." The Genin's eyebrows raised again. The man supposedly could not see them but he had said that just as the three shinobi with the music notes on their hitai-ates came into hearing range. Odd coincidence. The sound shinobi took offence and moved in an impressive blur of speed to attack Kabuto.

Before they could leap, however, each member of the sound team found themselves "restrained" by a member of Team 7. Sasuke's anger skyrocketed as he had not seen them move. The lead sound nin who had unveiled some type of device on his arm found himself with a glowing sword at his neck. The kunoichi was frozen with Hinata next to her, unable to move anything but her eyes. The final male found himself with the end of a kanabō in his face touching his nose.

Sakura's kanabō was a gift from Naruto. It was bought from the weapons shop Tenten's father owned, though they did not know of the relation, and then Naruto had added seals to the wood. It was 60 inches long, which reached Sakura at her shoulder when it stood up, had a two-inch diameter handle that flared to a four inch diameter at the head. Round-headed, chakra metal studs lined the entire barrel in neat rows and it had a flush mounted chakra metal cap on both ends. Sakura loved it and the permanent storage seal that Naruto provided with it.

Before anyone could move or comment, the first test proctor, Morino Ibiki shunshined into the room. The tense standoff was broken when Ibiki threatened to fail them all. Hinata quickly released the sound kunoichi who collapsed and everyone watched as Sakura made the huge war club vanish back into a storage seal, though no one knew where it was. No one noticed Tenten's jealous look either. She recognized the war club, had wanted it, but could not lift it as it was too heavy.


	18. Chunin Exams: Phase I

… **Third Floor Chunin Exam Room, Konoha Shinobi Academy, Konohagakure**

The sound nin and Kabuto moved back into the surrounding crowd of shinobi. The team leader, Dosu Kinuta made a halfhearted apology and excuse about their unfamiliarity with the rules of conduct for the exams. Both his teammates looked at him with confused eyes. None of what had happened was part of the carefully constructed plans of their "sensei".

The three sound shinobi were unsure about what to think of the skill shown by the Konoha shinobi. The briefing they had gotten had painted the "tree huggers" as complacent. Dosu had not used his full power or speed in his planned attack on Kabuto but that did not matter because he absolutely had not seen or perceived the movement of the leaf nin that intercepted him. And that was more worrisome. He resolved to inform his "Jōnin sensei" when next he saw "her" and tried to tell himself that he was just not properly focused on his surroundings.

With the excitement over, Ibiki captured the full attention of the room full of prospective Chunin. "Welcome to the official beginning of the Chunin exams. Over the next 40 days, you will be tested and a small group of you will be deemed worthy of promotion to the rank of Chunin for your respective villages. I give you one warning. No matter the circumstance, from this moment to the end of the exams, You. Are. Being, Tested."

The scarred man paused to look over the crowd, noting the few who seemed to take his words, said and unsaid, to heart. "Organize yourselves into a line. Each of you will get a tile with a number on it. That tile corresponds to a desk number. Get a number. Find your seat." He watched as with minimal jostling the large group of genin, made a line.

Once the three members of Team 7 got their tiles, Naruto gave each of his ladies a passionate kiss before leaving to take his seat. His kisses recaptured the attention of many but many more had to adjust themselves when Sakura and Hinata shared an equally passionate kiss with each other before separating to their seats as well.

Neji growled in the back of his throat at the girl who he viewed as not only weak and undeserving of her place in the main branch, but also as disrespectful and unworthy of the sacrifice the main branch made of his father. He never noticed Tenten looking at him with a frown. His behavior toward Hinata, who she knew was his cousin, was becoming eye opening for her

All the members of Team 7 could feel Neji's killing intent but that was due to their skill, not his power. If Hinata had not already told them of the dishonorable politics that existed within the Hyuga clan and the what was done to Neji's father, Naruto might have killed him right then for his disrespect towards Hinata. Even knowing the situation, the boy was creeping close to the edge of Naruto's patience. The only thing saving the older Hyuga was Naruto's knowledge that Hinata could handle it if he went too far.

Naruto and his Team had been towards the front of the line and got their tiles quickly, so he was able to continue to look at the group of shinobi from the various villages. He had been focused on the one tail's container earlier and hadn't looked at anyone else, really. His eyes landed on a girl with red hair. Red hair was a staple of the Uzu clans, despite his own blonde hair, but that didn't mean all red heads were decedents.

That thought abruptly changed when he noticed a bite mark on her wrist. The Uzukaatsu clan's specialty was using their massive chakra reserves in the field of healing. They had the chakra control, knowledge and skill to be amazing med nins but they were known for being able to just transfer healing chakra directly to patients by allowing the patient to bite them. The healing done by that method was miraculous and was able to go so far as regrow limbs or bring a patient back from the doorstep of the Shinagami. The Uzukaatsu clan only used that method in the direst of circumstances though. It could be taxing if overused but was also overkill. The predacious skill of the clan could heal most people through conventional methods and so sharing chakra was not necessary in most cases.

The kunoichi that was wearing a Kusagakure hitai-ate, now held two markers for being a member of one of the clans of Uzushiogakure. Naruto did not believe in coincidence and had a gut feeling that his suspicions about her lineage was right. More concerning to him was her body language. By the way she moved and shifted in her seat and how her hands drifted to different points on her covered arm and body, he was worried that leaders in Kusa also knew who she was and what could be gained by biting her and had been abusing her. If that was proven to be true it would be stopping immediately.

He would have to wait to the end of the first exam to do anything because he noticed that everyone had been seated. He doubted the tiles had been truly randomized as no members of the same team ended up sitting closer than three seats from one another. If it had been truly randomized some team members would have been lucky enough to sit with each other. Knowing his own extreme luck, any random distribution would have probably had both Hinata and Sakura next to him.

With everyone seated in their "randomly" assigned seats, Ibiki signaled to his aids and the first exam, a written test, was handed out. As the papers were placed, face down, on each desk Ibiki explained the rules. "Each of you starts with 10 points, there are 10 questions. Each wrong answer deducts a point. Pass or fail will be based on the combined score of your entire team and you will automatically fail if any of your team has zero points. Lastly, each instance of cheating will result in a two point deduction." Ibiki explained without interruption. Leaving no time for questions or considerations, Ibiki announced "Begin!"

Naruto took a glance at his test and instantly knew that the point of the multiple choice test was to cheat. He had the knowledge and intelligence of someone ten times his age and half the questions were so esoteric that he did not even know the answer. That meant the true purpose of the test was to cheat. He looked around and instantly spotted the 6 test takers that were plants. He looked over to Hinata and Sakura, and each gave him the briefest of nods indicating they too had figured out the purpose.

The easiest method would be for Hinata use her byakugan and then communicate the answers to them. He could see that Neji was using that method. He was disgusted that obvious uses of kekkei genkai were being ignored by the proctors as he saw that Sasuke had his sharingan activated as well. He signaled Hinata to do nothing and called his wind elemental to him. Kazeryu appeared as a slight breeze no one could see. He was the size of a racoon and the only sign of him was a ruffled paper or a swirl of dust.

Kazeryu knew of his maters desire the same way a shadow clone did not need to be told what to do. So after passing by one of the planted shinobi, the dragon moved past each of Team 7' desks depositing two grains of sand in the correct bubble for each answer. Sakura and Hinata smiled and quickly filled in their tests. Ibiki, who had been watching Hinata as she was the only kekkei genkai user to not use their inherited power, frowned in confusion when she and her two teammates started scribbling furiously.

As a rule, the experienced shinobi proctors overlooked things that were obvious preparations for cheating and only looked for the actual execution. It was why dojutsu users were expected to breeze through the test since activating their eyes was not in itself cheating. But Team 7 had done something else. What was more interesting is that a glance to the proctors overlooking each of the sections the three members sat in all signaled that they had no clue how Team 7 had done it. Ibiki made a note of that for the selection committee.

"Times up!" Ibiki barked. "Those of you who can count and are not stupid, would have noticed that the test only had nine questions. He signaled an assistant proctor to note the seven genin that had surprised looks on their faces. They had already failed and didn't know it. That level of stupidity could not be promoted. "The final question will be read by me and you must answer it. If you choose to listen to it. You can, instead, choose to leave and forfeit from the Chunin selection exams."

He was pleased to see distrustful eyes narrow at him. "There is a catch." He continued, "If you chose to hear my question, you must answer it. If you answer it wrong, you will automatically fail. If you fail for this reason you will be banned from ever taking the Chunin exams again." He smiled as after his words were processed, half the challenging eyes turned to horror and indecisiveness. As predicted one student cracked and desperately challenged his ability to do such a thing.

"The Chunin exams are hosted in Konoha but they represent an agreement between the five major shinobi villages as well as all the minor ones participating." He said with a cruel smile. "Each Kage or village leader agreed to abide by the results of these tests. Otherwise they would just promote you as they saw fit." He did not have to fake the satisfaction he got from seeing more eyes change from determination to indecision.

"Decide now!" he snapped at them. "The next exams are in six months and I promise you, I have nothing to do with them. Leave now and you still can guarantee your future. But if you leave, your entire team will be forced to leave with you." Then, one genin left apologizing to his teammates but not meeting their eyes. That opened the flood gates. Ibiki repressed a scowl when two Konoha teams failed, though one of them met each other's eyes and decided as a team. That won them a minute amount of respect.

In the end, a third of the teams disqualified themselves. Ibiki would learn later that most of them had been caught by the genjutsu on the second floor. He felt he had most likely saved their lives considering the next two phases of the exams. He looked into each of the remaining genin's eyes and knew no one else would leave.

"No more. OK." He said waiting a few beats to build the suspense. "You all pass." Those who nodded as if a suspicion was confirmed got one type of note for the selection committee and those who had the tension leave them as they were not forced to face their fear, got a separate note. It was a positive for both groups. Smart enough to uncover the deception or brave enough to face the uncertainty. Ibiki softened as he said as much to them, uncovering the extent of his own scars and teaching them that their continued health and success as a shinobi depended on them having both skills.

CRASH! Most of the remaining genin armed themselves and a full half jumped from their seats. Notes on their reactions were taken. The broken window was due to a ball of material that unwrapped itself due to the weight of the kunai attached to it that also pinned it to the ceiling. The cloth revealed itself to be a banner. On the banner was written "The sexy and single Mitarashi Anko. Chunin Exam Proctor. Phase 2."

Most didn't read it as they had their eyes on the undoubtedly sexy shinobi. She was dressed for seduction and distraction and not for combat. She wore a burgundy skirt that sat at her hips but only had panels in the front and back. A metal belt held it up, though that did nothing to hide the clear view of her shaven pussy as she moved about the room. She wore a matching burgundy bikini top that was so sheer, that everyone could clearly see all of her large breasts. Only her nipples being hidden by the swirls of a metal overlay that matched the belt but did nothing to cover any other part of her breasts.

Only the rookie genin were unaffected by Anko's dress. And so it was them that left the room right after her when she directed them to follow her before crashing through the window on the opposite wall to her entrance. The remaining stunned genin took a full 20 seconds to recover enough to follow. When the room was clear, Ibiki shook his head.

Ibiki had supported Anko's changes to the seduction class because of his respect for her. He was neutral in the war between pervert and prude, happy with his wife who was open to all things within the comfort of their home. But seeing the reaction of the genin to an unexpected flash of skin made him become more supportive of Anko's plans for their own sake. He made the note for the committee and collected the papers. How well they did at gathering data would be recorded as well.

… **Clearing outside the Forest of Death, Konohagakure**

The nine rookie genin arrived a moment after Anko and once again grouped together as they waited for the rest of the prospective Chunins to arrive. Anko remained in full seduction mode and even the nine shinobi who had been taught by her, found themselves affected. It amazed them how she balanced sexy and dangerous and just her body movements were like a siren's call to them. And even though they knew that succumbing would mean crashing proverbially on the "rocks" it was still oddly appealing.

It was the arrival of the other teams that helped them get perspective. Seeing the other teams fall all over themselves trying to control themselves, gave the nine something to focus on and broke the spell Anko had placed on them. "Welcome to training ground 44. We call it the Forest of Death" she purred at them and Naruto watched as many of the shinobi's brains seem to reboot at the mention of "death".

"This training ground is the most dangerous Konoha has to offer and is filled with animals and plants that will kill you on purpose and even more of the same that will kill you accidentally." Anko went on. Her voice and affectation was designed to work on the aggressive, type A personalities that usually defined shinobi. It was teasing and challenging, implying that the group in front of her was not strong enough to face the forest and that if they were she would be impressed and might reward them.

One Shinobi from Iwagakure took the bait. "Nothing in their will bother me sweet cheeks" he said. His words actually broke Anko's "spell" but she didn't falter. With an imperceptible twitch, a kunai flew from her and grazed the rock nin that had spoken. The knife cut just deep enough to draw blood and no more.

In a blink, Anko was behind him and she had changed personalities. She went from "black widow" to "dominatrix" and licked the blood off of the surprised shinobi's cheek. She said something to him that most did not hear but that made him pale and let out a whimpering sound that any Inuzuka would recognize.

Anko left the shivering genin and returned to the "black widow" seductress and explained the purpose and goal of the second exam. "Each team will be given a heaven or an earth scroll. At the very center of the forest is a tower and you have five days to reach that tower. You must have with you both a heaven and an earth scroll, meaning you must acquire the scroll you do not have from another team.

Along with both scrolls you must have with you; your entire team. They need not all be alive, but all three members must be present." The grin she had as she finished was truly sinister and more than one Genin shivered at the blood lust they could feel.

A tent and additional shinobi appeared in the clearing and the shinobi started handing out forms. Before the question could be asked, Anko spoke "Sign the forms you are being given. And take it over to the tent. In exchange for three signed forms, your team will be given a scroll and a starting gate number. The form is a release that absolved Konohagakure no Sato of any responsibility in the event of your death, regardless of the cause."

Only Team 7 was not at least a little bit unnerved by Anko's presentation. Hinata was not because all her strength came from Naruto who had an unmovable and unbreakable will. Sakura was not because she was too busy taking notes and become determined to become as good as her hero. And Naruto had no fear of death. He was also only half paying attention.

The other half of his attention was on the red-headed nin from Kusagakure. He had been watching her and her team since they arrived in the clearing and was completely sure that, at the very least, her teammates were abusive toward her. The hopelessness in her bearing suggested that she did not feel she had any options to get it to stop. That would not do as far as Naruto was concerned.

A breeze was the only sign that Kazeryu had been manifested again. The wind dragon was a little bit larger than it had been in the classroom and was now the size of one of the Inuzuka ninken. Any larger and the chakra that held it together would start to glow and be visible. The elemental knew its job and moved to swirl around the red-head.

Kazeryu's mission was to protect the girl from the forest and, if necessary, from her teammates. Nothing was allowed to touch her before Naruto could have an opportunity to speak with her. With the grass nin, the red-head whose name was Karin was staring wide-eyed at the dragon that had curled around her feet. Along with her ability to heal, Karin was also a very powerful sensor. She could actually see Chakra.

She had been examining some shinobi when she felt the spike of chakra that was the formation of Kazeryu and could see the wind elemental dragon as it flew around her but she had not been looking in the direction the spike had come from and had no idea whose jutsu had created it. The dragon was ridiculously dense with chakra and she was frightened at who could have executed such a jutsu without anyone else noticing. She already knew that despite the denseness of the dragon's chakra she was the only one able to perceive it.

She said nothing about its presence because despite how powerful and dangerous it was, it also managed to convey comfort and protection to her. Before her mother died she had set up a small shrine for her and she had regularly prayed that her unknown ancestors would send something to guide and protect her. And even though her rational mind knew this was a jutsu, her heart wanted so desperately for it to be an answer to her prayers that she accepted the wind elemental as her guardian spirit.

Her faith was rewarded when Wakita Shigeri, the team leader of her squad and the boy who hurt her the most tried to grab at her and she saw the wind dragon, who only she could see, swipe a tail and hit his hand away. She saw the shock and then anger on his face. And saw how it only got worse the more he tried to grab at her and failed.

Wakita Shigeri had absolutely no respect for Uzumaki Karin. It was not because she was a kunoichi, it was because she was a foreigner. All of his sensei had made it clear to him that Karin was only to be viewed as an asset to the village and nothing more. He had been angry that he had been forced to have her on his team and so had abused her one useful trait. Every injury he had, he would bite her to have it healed, and it didn't matter how minor. He also made sure to bite her harder than was necessary to absorb her healing chakra.

So, the fact that he was, now, unable to grab hold of her, was angering him to a point of recklessness. But he got himself under control. Attacking her in the clearing with the scary and sexy proctor prowling around would be stupid. But the minute they were released in the woods, she would take down whatever protection she had gotten or he would kill her and report her as a traitor. Then he would teach her to not embarrass him like that. He had been debating whether to take her for his own pleasure, and had made up his mind. Taking her body would be a good lesson for the "foreign bitch."

Karin was terrified. She knew that the wind dragon would protect her but now that it had stopped Shigeri, she knew that if the wind dragon ever went away she would be dead. Or worse. She had seen the fluctuations in his chakra and paled when lust started to mix in with anger. She looked at the dragon who seemed to sense that she could see it and took some comfort at the reassurance she saw in its chakra.

Naruto had seen the interaction and was satisfied that Kazeryu was doing as he had instructed. He noticed that Karin seemed sensitive to the wind elemental's presence but had not picked up on the fact that she could see it. Discovering that he had seen to her safety and protection would be a good "ice breaker" to the conversation he hoped to have with her later.

He and his team entered the tent with their signed forms and left with a heaven scroll that Naruto and sealed into one of the storage seals sewn into his outfit. Outside they brought their gate assignment ticket to one of the proctors who led them to their assigned gate. Each gate was about a half mile from each other, so Team 7 could see the two shinobi teams at each gate to the left and right of them.

The gate to the left had Iwa nin who was looking at him with sadistic glee and Naruto had no doubt they planned to come after him. He was not surprised as the news of his parentage had been out for over a month and the Tsuchikage had already tried to demand he be handed over as "payment" for "crimes" his father had committed. Iwagakure and Konohagakure were still technically enemies, called "rivals" for political and diplomatic purposes, and so Naruto knew what to expect when the stone village suddenly accepted the invitation to the Chunin exams.

Naruto did spare the pathetic team a glance. Iwagakure's Chunin and Jōnin were all known and so Iwa could not send them to pose as Genin so they had to send actual Genin on the assassination mission. No actual Genin could challenge Naruto. The blonde looked to the other gate and saw three oddly dressed shinobi. They wore breathing masks over their faces that Naruto recognized as a feature of the shinobi from Amekagure, the rain village, a less hostile "rival" of the village hidden in the leaves.

Yoneda Toshi, Goto Tamotsu and Nagaoka Michiko were the names of the three Genin that made up one of the two teams Iwagakure had sent to the Chunin exams in Konoha. They had not originally been on a team together but them and the three members of the other participating team had been specifically selected to kill the son of the "yellow flash". All of them were from families the Yondaime Hokage had killed indiscriminately during the third shinobi war and all of them had been raised to hate all things related to "that man".

They were also selected because they had shown a willingness to be brutal. Their mission was primarily to kill Namikaze Naruto, but secondarily, they were tasked with embarrassing the Namikaze name as much as possible. The three Genin who found themselves at the gate next to the living person they hated most, resolved to give the boy the most brutal, painfully and disrespectful death ever. It was the lone kunoichi that, after seeing the three kissing, wanted to kill his teammates as well. She planned to cut open their stomachs as a message that no new Namikaze would be tolerated.

All around the Forest of death, the Genin teams prepared themselves and made plans. The skill of Team 7 had not fully made it around the elemental nations yet and the fact that they were kissing, dressed like "whores" and wearing all white to head into a forest, left many teams thinking that they would make an easy and early target. Because of this, many of the Chunin hopefuls were jealous of the teams that were "lucky" enough to be close to that team's gate to get an early win. Smarter teams were wary as they saw that the other Konoha teams were very respectful of the "fool" team and resolved to not underestimate them.

With everyone in place. A signal flare flew high into the sky and the proctors at each gate opened them and allowed the genin to dash into the wood line. Phase 2 had begun.


	19. Meanwhile in Uzu

… **Uzushiogakure**

Kitsune, like their father, are very prideful and narcissistic beings. Recognition of their beauty and majesty was paramount to them. Their tendency to preen under the positive attention of mortals could easily be misconstrued as them being weak or shallow in mind.

It was a mistake that had been made many times before the Kitsune were moved to their summoning realm. Their reputation for cleverness, guile and seduction was not unearned and the Kitsune enjoyed toying with people as much as they did being recognized for their beauty.

Over the centuries that they had been alone in their own realm, none of those tendencies had gone away. In fact they had just multiplied. So it was an eager bunch that anxiously worked to re-enter the mortal plain. Being trapped for so long away from people who could honor and be in awe of them had become depressing and many viewed Naruto as a savior.

Interestingly enough, once told of the death of their father and the rebirth of the Kyuubi as a woman, the expected anger at their "sister" for leaving them hidden had never materialized. Not after learning of the legendary status the Kitsune summoning contract had attained. It appealed to all their vanity and the fact that the Kyuubi had been trapped alone for generations appealed to their sense of justice and karma.

Their savior, Naruto, had wisely recognized the narcissism and vanity of the summon clan and had, smartly, acted in ways that appealed to that. Inume believed he was using appeals to their vanity as a method to seduce them and as she looked around at her sisters, she had to admit it was working. She had already claimed her place as his 10th and final Kitsune wife for the revival of the Uzumaki Clan, not that Naruto had been told. She was the Clan boss, after all, and she had planned to make him earn his place in her bed and between her legs.

The remaining nine spots had also already been claimed but most of them had declared themselves openly to their blonde summoner. His reaction to the bold ones was putting a strain on the sisters who remained silent as he was showing himself to be the perfect match for the Kitsune by being the type of man that was generous in his affections.

 **...Flashback**

"Hello my pretty vixens" Naruto purred at the two twelve tailed Kitsunes. Ima and Isa were twins and they were currently in their fox forms. With twelve tails, their fox form was gigantic. Not Kyuubi gigantic but still ridiculously large. They stood ten feet tall at the shoulders and were thirty feet long, not counting the twelve, ten foot long tails that swished constantly behind them.

They were lounging in the shade and they both purred at his affection. Naruto had built them each a large cabana that sat on either side of the front gates of the Uzumaki compound. He had also widened the wrought iron sections of the wall so that both Kitsune could be seen from outside the compound to allow them to preen under the ever present eyes of the amazed villagers.

The sisters like to move around in both their fox form and Kitsune form. Seals on the gate kept them safe from any one stupid enough to try to attack them but almost all who came to see them stared at them in wonder. Something they both loved immensely. Especially the men who would lose themselves to their lustful desires when the sisters would appear in their Kitsune forms. The tiny bikinis they wore and their tendency to kiss and grope each other explained the reasons more that any words could.

When the other villages of the elemental nations came for the Chunin exams, the attention the Kitsune received only went up. Word had spread of the discovery of the contract and the revival of the Uzumaki clan and many more than normal came to see if it was true only to fall under the spell of the two sisters that spent most of their time at the gate.

Ima and Isa considered Naruto responsible for all the attention they were getting and declared that they loved their "Naru-kun" because of it. In response to Naruto's attention, Ima turned back into her Kitsune form and drew him into a deep kiss. A sexy rumble accompanied the kiss when his hand ran over her ass and rubbed one of her tails.

When the kiss broke, Isa took her turn. Both wore the briefest of bikinis that were orange in honor of Naruto's favorite color. It went with the dark blue color of the fur on their ears and tails. Each ear and tail was tipped with a bit of white fur that the sisters had been convinced were exactly the same except Naruto insisted it was enough different for him to tell them apart. The sisters had spent hours trying to find the difference and could not but Naruto never got them confused no matter how hard they tried to trick him.

… **End Flashback**

Koma and Sugi had seven tails each and had also publicly claimed spots as his future wives. Those two were Naruto's personal summons. When Naruto would act as a proper clan head, they would be his "body guards". They dressed in full body black ANBU style suits with matching chakra metal shin, wrist and forearm guards. They had the end of all their tails wrapped in black bandages to cut down on the volume.

The comparison to the elite ANBU would be complete, if not for Kitsune vanity that demanded they leave their faces uncovered and leave strategic cutouts in their uniforms to tease the swell of their breasts. The two, black furred Kitsune, loved the effect they had on the village as they walked in Naruto's wake.

Hinata and Sakura's personal summons, Shime and Haname, had also claimed a spot for themselves as a future Uzumaki wife though they would have to wait till they had at least four tails before they could marry him. The mountain of attention the two got from Hinata and Sakura, however, more than satisfied their vanity.

The remaining three spots were claimed by the three Kitsune Inume had beaten to become the boss summon. Nana had twenty tails like her, Kachi had nineteen and Asashi had eighteen. With the four most powerful of them, including herself, making their claim known to the clan and the public claimers already ensconcing themselves within Naruto's heart, the competition, as it were, was already over.

Inume smiled to herself as she passed two of them. Kachi and Asaschi's pride was conflicting with their desire for attention. Their power demanded Naruto "earn" them but his treatment of the "lesser" tails demanded that they get the same. Inume and Nana found it fun to watch them struggle with themselves. The two most powerful felt the immense pull that called them to Naruto but were far more in control of themselves.

Along with Ima, Isa, Koma and Sugi, twelve Kitsune lived fulltime at the Uzumaki compound in Konoha. The twelve had lost out on being a mate for Naruto but they certainly enjoyed all the attention their patrols along the walls and roof top garnered. Inume was also in the mortal realm. She and 300 of her sisters were currently involved in a project that justified her faith in the young Uzumaki. They were secretly rebuilding Uzushiogakure.

… **Flashback**

"What did you wish to speak to me about Uzumaki-sama" Inume said to Naruto. She saw his brow furrow and smiled to herself. She knew how much he disliked anyone using such formal tones with him. She purposely did not do it all the time. He never knew when he would hear it and she loved watching the struggle he had in not giving in to her by seeming frustrated or flustered. She considered it part of their mating dance.

"Yes, Inume-chan." He said calmly. "I have completed the Uzumaki sealing mastery and it's time to start rebuilding Uzu." Her eyebrow rose at his words. She hadn't thought he would want to do so before having more actual members in his clan. He continued as if he didn't notice her inquiring look. He had. "Did you know that even though the Uzumaki's knowledge and skill of sealing were miles ahead of anyone else's, they were actually stuck in a rut. They were not developing new seals or applying their knowledge to practical or innovative uses. Instead they were just becoming better and better at understanding the intricacies of their seal formulas."

Inume looked at the 16 year old blond curiously. "My father on the other hand, was only a level 10 seal master by Uzumaki standards but had a depth of creativity that the Uzumaki seemed to have lost. Fortunately for both clans, I have the Uzumaki's skill and knowledge as well as the Namikaze creativity." Inume could understand the benefits but was still unsure why he was telling her.

What followed was an explanation that, literally, wet her panties. If she wanted a mate that had power, guile and cleverness, the boy in front of her already had it in spades and what he planned to do made it almost impossible for her to hold herself back from taking him right then. When he completed this goal, she would bed him. She thought it would take him years to be worthy of her but she had underestimated him.

… **End Flashback**

Uzushiogakure was currently under a powerful illusion barrier powered by seals that were able to draw on the natural energy of the surrounding area. Naruto had created a Sage Seal and that was only the tip of the iceberg. Uzushiogakure would likely never fall again to invaders as the seals around the islands would make it virtually impenetrable.

The list of seals Naruto had created or modified to be part of Uzu's protection, security and comfort was staggering. He created a seal that would be tattooed on each citizen of Uzushiogakure. Without the tattoo, the primary protective dome would "capture" the unadorned person. Anything containing even a minor amount of chakra and not carrying a seal, either tattoo or visitors pass, would be frozen in place by the protective dome. Beyond civilians, even pets and farm animals would have to carry the seal.

In the building that would be the "ANBU" headquarters, Naruto had built a miniature of the completed village. The seals on the miniature communicated with the dome and allowed for the real time monitoring of all the passes active within the walls as well as alarming when a chakra presence without a pass was detained.

For more security, Naruto had developed a seal that was inscribed onto the surrounding seabed. It would give Uzushiogakure the ability to create more of the whirlpools that was the clan's namesake. With that control Uzu would be able to cut off all sea access to the islands without permission. The plan called for one path through the whirlpools that would be controlled at the port and lighthouse.

Contrarily, Naruto had undone some of the closer whirl pools and in between the active whirlpools and the land would be beaches that one day would be the number one vacation destination and rival Tanzaku Town in Hi no Kuni. One of the smaller islands that had previously been a training ground was slated to become a resort that would challenge the offerings of the hot springs village.

Naruto had modified an Uzumaki seal and had it etched in the buried foundation of every wall, inside and around the rebirthing village. It allowed for self-repair and maintenance. Inume had watched as the wall repaired itself from rubble in less than 5 seconds after she had destroyed the wall with a swipe of her sword. A second seal was added that made the wall stronger after every repair untill her sword slashes alone could no longer bring them down.

Naruto had even created plans for seal weapons that were being built and installed around the village. The walls would have launchers that held seals that stored jutsu's like the Gouryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame). Once built the weapons would be on the walls and on the lighthouse islands that marked the only point of safe entry for ships.

Naruto was able to expand, though he considered it a completion of, the flying thunder god seal that allowed anyone to instantaneously travel between markers, and they needed no skill to do it. The power was in the seal. One would be in Uzu and the other would be in the Uzumaki compound in Konoha. There would also be one at the future Namikaze compound but that would only connect to the Uzumaki compound.

Then Naruto had a whole selection of seals for infrastructure. Water purification, waste management, heating, cooling, the list went on. But it was the final two seals that Naruto had developed that had made Inume accept that once done, she would be his completely.

The first was a seal that allowed her and her clan to self-summon to the mortal plain. Before his seal, they could only be summoned by him or summon him to their realm. The seal he had created would be infused with his chakra and allow them to self-summon to it. He had created it for his future wives but all Kitsune would have access to its use.

The final seal he created in his initial efforts, had rocked Inume's entire world view. Even then as she overlooked the work that was being done to bring Uzushiogakure back to life, she was still in wonder at the seal he placed in the Kitsune realm. It allowed the Kyuubi to leave his seal and live within the Kitsune summoning realm. Naruto still did not trust Karumi enough to let her loose in the mortal world but in the Kitsune realm she had freedom to roam and people to talk to.

… **Flashback**

"So, whenever she returns to this realm, she will appear in the seal." Naruto finished explaining to Inume. The boss summon of the Kitsune Summoning Clan looked at the boy in front her with mouth agape. It wasn't till she heard him laughing at her loss of composure that her pride and dignity reasserted itself. She growled at him for daring to laugh at her but she could not maintain her false anger in front of the near miraculous news.

In the seal Karumi was in a worse state. She had lost all composure and was not able to regain it. She had a millennia of memories and hundreds of years worth of anger and frustration and none of her experience prepared her for how to deal with the gift she was being offered. She would not be allowed free rain in the world of man, but other than Naruto she did not care for that world anyway. She was also being offered the opportunity to be with her sisters/children.

Naruto's smug smile was like an aphrodisiac to Inume. There was no greater show of skill and worth to a Kitsune than to earn a place of smugness above them. Whether through trickery, deceit or true accomplishment, it did not matter. Naruto had completely flustered the Kitsune leader and that was a powerful mating call for the twenty tailed beauty. Only the knowledge that he was a clone stopped her from taking him right then.

Naruto's first visit to the Kitsune summoning realm was to complete that seal. He had bargained to have three kits with ten of them as part of his deal but after bringing Karumi "home" Inume was sure every Kitsune would want to bear him at least one child. Including Karumi. The magnitude of what was happening allowed Inume and her sisters to keep their hands off of him, but it was a close thing.

The Kyuubi no Yoko, went on a bit of a sabbatical after the ritual was complete. She had thoroughly kissed Naruto with a passion that promised him everything she had. Then she had decided that she needed time to roam and feel the freedom of her new world. She reverted to her monstrous size and went into the mountains.

… **End Flashback**

They had not seen her since but the entire realm had felt her power as she vented years of frustration and anger at some times and yelled in victory and joy at others. Inume calmed her thoughts. It was something she had to do often as the magnitude of what Naruto had done continued to overwhelm her at times.

The fact the Kyuubi was no longer in the seal on Naruto's stomach was the first of the renewed Uzumaki Clan's secrets. Not even Hinata and Sakura would know as they were to be Namikaze. She felt her desire for the young man start to climb again and she found herself rubbing her legs together as her mind started to drift towards naughty thoughts about his fingers, and mouth and…

"Deep breaths!" she snapped to herself. Being at the epicenter of Naruto's plans was not easy for her. She had already decided that instead of being the last Kitsune he bedded, she would be his first and the other nine future wives had made it clear that Uzushiogakure must be rebuilt by the end of the Chunin exams to meet the boss summon's requirement because they would wait no longer.

The power of his moves drove her wild and she was the most powerful of her sisters. For the lesser tails, the pressure was already too much. The only thing saving him from them was the fact that he wasn't there. At least the real 'him' wasn't. Thousands of his clones were helping in the rebuilding effort. And she had asked him not to summon any of her kin during the exam because she knew that any Kitsune he summoned would jump him, regardless of her command.

She told her future husband that her request was because they wanted to focus on rebuilding Uzushiogakure but she wasn't sure he believed her. The truth was he was more than just their summoner, he had supplanted her as the Kitsune clan head and of the many surprises she was experiencing, her lack of concern about that was a big one.

"I have submitted to human" she found herself ruefully. And then they all felt another pulse of power from Karumi. The spike of power brought to her mind that there was a new sister that was much more powerful than she was and that she might find herself losing more than one position in the hierarchy of the Kitsune clan. Again she found herself unconcerned. She instinctually respected power. She would test it to make sure it was true but she had no problem relinquishing her power to a more powerful

Refocusing on her inspection she reviewed the reports she had received. The rebuilding of Uzushiogakure no Sato was on schedule. The main wall was built. As was the treasury. The parade that brought the Uzu treasure to the Uzumaki compound had been a shell game. The transport circle had brought it all back to Uzu. Both locations where near impregnable but underestimating future opponents was not Naruto's way.

The rebuild and rebirth of the village hidden in the whirlpools was a massive project and keeping it secret was paramount to Naruto's plans. So the necessary purchases were being done in secret through brokers who didn't know anything about the project they were ultimately supplying to. The cost of the effort was minor compared to the vast wealth that had been recovered and would be recovered quickly once the "seal masters" of the elemental nations began to sell their skills again, especially with Naruto's renaissance of ideas and advancements.

All the actual building and construction was being done by the members of the Kitsune Clan with Naruto's clones only being used to apply and initialize the various seals. When it was revealed, Inume wanted Uzushiogakure to have the added political power of being built completely by a legendary summon. She knew that eventually human women would come into the village, but she wanted it known that the mothers of Uzushiogakure was, and forever would be, the Kitsune.

Inume's inspection brought her to the "clan" district. It was shaped like a wedge that had been taken from a circle. At the point of the wedge was the Uzumaki Clan Compound. The remainder was split into the three other Uzu main clans. It was important to know that Uzushiogakure was not really a shinobi village. It was more of a giant family compound. Uzumaki was the main house, and it had three branch houses. If Uzu were a shinobi village then the head of the Uzumaki Clan would always be the "Uzukage".

Surrounding the Clan compounds would be the village infrastructure buildings like schools and the small preparatory shinobi academy. This area would have the library, treasury, and the museum. Surrounding that was the merchant areas and trading posts. All citizens of Uzushiogakure would belong to the family but once the village and family was rebuilt, it was expected that they would have visitors and permanent residents from all over the elemental nations.

Inume ended her daily inspection at the Uzumaki Tower. It was located at the point of the wedge and at the top was the office of the Uzumaki Clan head. The office had floor to ceiling windows on all sides that allowed for those inside to look over the entire village, while preventing anyone from seeing inside. The office was complete but unfurnished. Inume stood in the space tingling at the thought of Naruto occupying it and her standing by his side.

In a time long past, her father had locked away her and her sisters to protect them from the animosity of man, now she had returned to that world and found a stronghold and struck a bargain that would protect the Kitsune for the rest of time.


	20. Chunin Exams: Phase II

… **Training Ground 44 (The Forest of Death), Konohagakure**

As soon as Naruto, Hinata and Sakura crossed into the tree line, their outfits shifted colors to match the surrounding vegetation. The base color of their outfits was black, chosen just in case the seals on them failed, but the outfits could change to any color desired by the wearer. It could also, as was the case now, be set to a chameleon-like function that would constantly shift to offer camouflage based on the surrounding area. With their hoods and masks up and the ability to mask their chakra, aided by chakra suppression seals, the three Genin practically vanished from perception.

The uniforms were actually wonders of modern fūinjutsu techniques and represented the great untapped use of the chakra artform within the shinobi world. The fact that only the Uzumaki Clan had become famous for their fūinjutsu reflected poorly on the world rather than highly on his family, in Naruto's opinion. That his family had been so limited in their imagination when it came to the art showed that the Uzumaki were more similar to the rest of the shinobi world than they would have liked to admit.

The outfits he had designed for himself and his two loves lived up to the potential of the art. A fire needs heat, fuel and oxygen, all in a balanced quantity. In a similar fashion, a seal requires three items in balance as well. The **media** , which is what the seal structure of the seal is made of, most commonly ink; the **surface** , which is what the seal is applied to, commonly chakra paper, and lastly, the chakra that powers it.

What they were all wearing was a combination of material surfaces and media. The cloth was all silk with seals embroidered using chakra wire. The metals, on the shin guards and similar, are all platinum with the seals etched and then filled with molten chakra metal. Each uniform took 1500 hours to make after the 10,000 hours it took to gain the proper secondary expertises in sewing and blacksmithing. Naruto made each one himself.

Along with the color change and storage seals, the uniforms also had climate control; electricity, fire and water resistance; chakra suppression; stealth; and a suite of internal security, communication and monitoring seals. Finally, they all had Hiraishin markers so they could always teleport to one another. Naruto had also improved the Hiraishin no jutsu and the markers where now on shuriken for stealthier and faster deployment. In honor of his father they used three point shuriken instead of the standard four pointed version.

Learning the Hiraishin had been difficult for the two girls but made simpler by the number of clones they could produce. Naruto had to create blood based seals to make sure that they didn't trip over each other by accidently moving to each other's seals. It was a modification his father had been working on and was the main reason the Yondaime had not taught his signature jutsu to anyone else. Naruto decided to leave the modified time space jutsu as a Namikaze clan specialty.

In the woods the three began to speak to each other. Their masks and hoods allowing for them to speak and hear each other without any sound being produced externally. They moved about one hundred yards into the forest, created shadow clones, still in white, and waited. They did not have to wait long. "Here they come", Hinata said. Even with all the seals, Hinata's byakugan still had the greater range and accuracy.

When the gates opened, the team from Iwagakure moved to get ahead of the team from the leaf village that had the legacy of the greatest enemy of the stone shinobi village. The shinobi of Iwagakure had developed a reputation as true shinobi, meaning notions of honor and fair fights had been abandoned in the name of achieving victory. It was still a truism and was the nindō of the stone shinobi.

It was thus surprising for most who knew of it, that the stone village hated Namikaze Minato so much. He had acted as a true shinobi and used his skill to defeat a seemingly superior enemy. The only difference between the Yondaime Hokage's victory over stone and any other shinobi's victory over stone shinobi, had been the quantity of lost troops.

Yoneda Toshi, Goto Tamotsu and Nagaoka Michiko knew all of this and yet had bought into the hate that the village had festered. Pride and embarrassment was at the core of the hatred. As they had at the start of the third shinobi war, Iwagakure and its shinobi believed that they should be the most powerful and most respected village in the elemental nations. That position had always been held by Konoha and Iwagakure hated it. That a Konoha kage level shinobi had humiliated them and did it by himself just gave Iwa a focus for their frustration.

When word reached that the Yondaime Hokage had a son and that Konohagakure had established the Namikaze as a true shinobi clan, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, took it as a direct insult and so had his council and most of the shinobi in the village. Nagaoka had been selected as a team leader because her hatred for Namikaze and Konoha was absolute. She was not stupid or blinded by her hatred, however, and she led her team carefully against the leaf team.

… **Team 7 vs Team Iwagakure (Nagaoka, Goto, Yoneda)**

Ten minutes after the Chunin hopefuls had entered the gates, Michiko's team found the Konoha team. She was careful but seeing the three "idiots" that wanted to call themselves shinobi strolling through the forest in white was a hard thing to ignore. They were moving with care and the only explanation she could come up with was that they had gone for style for the first test, knowing it was not going to be in the field and had been caught unawares by the quick start to the second phase. It explained the lack of traps and equipment too.

Each member of the Iwagakure team drew a tantō. The swords had been specially prepared for the teams heading to Konahagakure. They were ceremonial. During their construction a name of one of Minato Namikaze's victims was etched into each layer before the metal was folded. A curse of "Justice and Vengeance" had also been etched into the finished surface of each blade. Beyond ceremony, each blade was poisoned to make sure that the last Namikaze died in pain.

Confident in her coming victory and the fact that she would be the one to end the Namikaze family forever, she signaled and they executed a coordinated, simultaneous attack on Naruto and his girls. Naruto was impressed that the "enemy" nin did not waste time "monologuing" about why they were attacking him. He already knew and they likely knew he knew. He had planned to play with them, stretching out the fight. But, since they had shown him a form of respect by just trying to kill him, he showed them the same.

Nagaoka Michiko had no time to panic when she saw the Hyuga "whore" vanish in a puff of smoke after Tamotsu's tantō stabbed her. Her own target, the Namikaze, was pierced through the heart by her own short sword. She would have needed one additional millisecond to process that the shinobi they had attacked were shadow clones. A millisecond more and she would have realized they had fallen into a trap. One full second more than that and she could have looked over to her teammates and started to panic. Instead, her last thought was satisfaction from the feeling of her sword pushing through her target's body and then the beginning of confusion when her head was removed from her own.

The brain functions for a little while after decapitation. No more than two seconds but for Michiko and her two angry compatriots that time was wasted confused about the sudden change in their visual perspective. Not that it mattered but Michiko would have been devastated that it was her who had been beheaded by Naruto's sword, just as her father had been killed by his father. The other two's heads had been removed by Hinata and Sakura with tantō they kept on them for exactly that purpose.

… **Team 7 Wins**

… **Flawless Victory**

… **Fatality**

Naruto searched the bodies of the three dead shinobi. He found a heaven scroll and shook his head in disappointment that he had not found what he was looking for. Then he sealed the bodies in a scroll. He would turn them over to the proctor at the tower for return to their village. He had a stray thought wondering if knowing he and his team had killed them would be better or worse for the reputations of the dead shinobi. He was sure he would get a spot in the Iwa bingo book if he didn't already have one.

… **With [Uzukaatsu] Karin, Training Ground 44 (The Forest of Death), Konohagakure**

As soon as her team had entered through the gates and gotten out of view of the proctor, Shigeri had attacked Karin. She had learned never to defend herself when a "real" Kusa shinobi attacked her. As a rule that kept her safe as everyone knew that hurting her too badly would bring the displeasure of her handler, the teams Jōnin sensei, Toyoda Zōsui.

However, the invisible dragon's refusal to allow Shigeri to touch her had blown through his rational and he had started attempting attacks that would kill or maim her. The third member of the team, Izuhara Yoichi had no love or care for Karin but also did not see any purpose in abusing her. So, as was his way, he settled in and waited for the conflict to conclude. He did not care either way. He didn't even particularly want to be a Chunin.

Karin watched in amazement as the little dragon deflected every taijutsu move Shigeri attempted and would attack Shigeri's hands every time he tried to form seals, to attempt a jutsu, preventing him from molding his chakra. "Stop this, bitch!" he screamed in rage at his continued humiliation. Eventually he was reduced to threatening that once Zōsui found out about her behavior she would be punished and finally given to him to do as he desired. What he promised to do to her, terrified Karin but she had no control of the dragon.

Shigeri was on the verge of madness. The entire purpose of their participation in the exams was to gain him the rank of Chunin. He did not like that the foreign bitch was on his team but he had been given her as a gift because she could always be used to heal injuries. His abuse of her abilities was far greater than had been expected. Now that she seemed to be untouchable, he finally wanted her. Karin found her confidence increasing with each failed attempt at her and the kunoichi that would return to Zōsui would be much different than the one that left him that morning.

… **With Team 7, Training Ground 44 (The Forest of Death), Konohagakure**

Team 7 had skill and power far beyond the Genin that were participating in the Chunin exams. That included the Genin that had been held back in order to act as "ringers" within the exams. It was part of the politics of the shinobi world that villages would purposefully hold back young shinobi until they were Chunin level in skill and power before entering them in the exam.

The members of Team 7 were far beyond even that and were beyond S-class based on power and ability. Their goal was to all achieve the Chunin rank, so despite outclassing all the other Genin in the forest and gaining the earth scroll they needed after tracking down the rain village shinobi that had been at the gate next to them, opposite the Iwa shinobi, they fought and defeated two other teams.

Sakura had been allowed to take on the rain team by herself and had used her kanabō for experience purposes. The fight had been short and brutal. Sakura was able to wield the heavy club with the speed and precision of a katana but with the power and weight of a club. In the mainly taijutsu battle, Sakura broke the arm of one shinobi before she knocked them all out. The mask wearing shinobi had made a disparaging comment about kunoichi.

The members of Team 7 did not know how closely the forest or the teams were being monitored, nor did they know the criteria that would be used by the selection committee. So after taking out the "assassination" squad as a team, each of them took an opportunity to defeat a team on their own. Unlike the first team they left the other teams alive. Naruto finished off the last team they encountered, knocking out their final member and collecting a second earth scroll to go with the three heaven scrolls they already had.

With that complete they made camp, deciding that it would give them an opportunity to show off their camp building skills. The forest was, in fact, being monitored by the selection committee using the crystal ball that was normally in the Hokage's office. No single team was being monitored constantly but since it was relatively easy to see which teams were heading toward each other, most of the fights had been monitored.

Team 7 made camp instead of going right to the tower. Which was a smart move because the bonus they would have gotten for arriving at the tower on the first day, did not out way the points they received for setting up a perfectly hidden campsite. Especially with the bonus they got because after completing the setup, the crystal ball was unable to find Team 7. An ANBU squad sent out by a curious Hiruzen could not find them either. That was truly impressive.

… **Chunin Selection Committee, Hokage's Tower, Konohagakure**

The first day of the Chunin exams had ended and all the remaining teams, except one, had made camp for the night. Of the 26 teams that made it out of the written test, 2 teams had been eliminated due to the death of all the team members, the team from Iwagakure that attacked Team 7 and a team from Amegakure that had been massacred by the Suna team made up of the Kazekage's children. They were the only team not making camp as they had already made it to the tower, completing the second stage in 97 minutes.

Excluding the two dead teams, 6 teams had lost their scrolls to other teams but technically still had an opportunity to successfully complete the phase. In addition to the Suna team, 4 teams had both of the scrolls they needed, but all had decided to make camp. Two of the teams were not from Konoha and wisely did not want to face the forest of death at night and with no knowledge of what they might face. The selection committee noted the intelligent thinking.

The selection committee had 11 members. Two from each of the four major shinobi villages participating plus one form each of the minor villages. The newest village, Otogakure had not sent a committee representative and Kirigakure was not participating as it was still in the midst of a bloody civil war. All the committee members were Jōnin level and none were the sensei of any of the teams participating. The Konoha representatives were Uzuki Yūgao and Gekkō Hayate. The Hokage was present but did not have a vote.

With the day done, the committee held its first discussion. The crystal ball was still being monitored by ANBU in case anything of note happened during the night. Neither of the members representing Konoha were surprised that the two representatives from Iwagakure were angry at the death of their shinobi. Everyone at the table got the sense the anger was mainly due to embarrassment at how easily the team had been dispatched.

Unknown to the people at the table, Team 7 had hidden their skills when fighting the other teams they faced despite going one on three in those cases. It still left the impression that the Iwa team had been taken out easily by a Genin team that showed great, but not exceptional skill. It was another slap to the face by the Namikaze as far as the two visiting shinobi were concerned.

The representative from Amegakure was also very upset. Iwagakure and Kumogakure had no formal alliance with Konohagakure or Sunagakure, and were rivals, but Amegakure did (with Sunakagure) and the shinobi representative was disturbed that the Kazekage's son would kill a team from an allied nation so brutally. There was nothing to do about it as the exams represented and exemption to such things but the Ame shinobi was unhappy.

With the objections made, a lively discussion began about how the remaining applicants were doing. Ignoring the refusal by the Iwagakure nin to acknowledge the skill of one particular young shinobi, the general consensus was that Team 7 members were all showing great potential for promotion. Even the Kumogakure nin took the time to compliment the Hyuga for her skill at dispatching the Kumo team. She used a Raiton infused jyuken to take them down. No one missed the irony in the fact that she had taken them on by herself or the point that was being made.

That was when the ANBU called the committee's attention to what was happening in the forest. The committee recognized the team and everyone ignored the quiet grown that came from the representative from Kusagakure. This team had not been doing well. The man from Kusa was already regretting the report he would have to deliver to the team's sensei.

Not only did it seem like they were losing control of the Uzumaki foreigner, but the shinobi that was to be their pride and joy was being completely outclassed at every turn. Shigeri had been responsible for losing their earth scroll to a Konoha team, mostly because he had been busy ogling their blonde haired kunoichi, not that he believed they could have won anyway. Karin's protector had allowed her to fight against the other team but still protected her from any serious damage. In the end, they had left her conscious and taken the scroll. The Kusa representative could only wonder, "what has happened now?"

… **10 Minutes Earlier**

… **With [Uzukaatsu (?)] Karin, Training Ground 44 (The Forest of Death), Konohagakure**

Once Shigeri had returned to consciousness he had been livid. Even though Karin had put up a valiant fight and it was him that had been blinded by his lust, he still blamed the "foreign bitch" for their loss. He had demanded that she present her arm for him to bite and heal himself, despite his gravest injuries being a cut lip and minor concussion.

She refused.

It was the first time she had ever stood up for herself and it was a sign that she was putting her faith in the mysterious protection she had miraculously received. Shigeri exploded with rage and tried to kill her. His efforts were as futile as they had been earlier but he lasted much longer.

With nothing else to do while Shigeri continued his pointless assault against Karin, Yoichi built their camp. The camp that he built had more in common with one that a civilian would build than it did with what a shinobi should build while in a hostile area. The fire was too large and not built to be smokeless. The area Yoichi had chosen was at the center of an open clearing and not near, or in, the tree line and tragically, he began to cook himself dinner on the large fire. Dry fish with a little water to rehydrate it. He was not a very good shinobi. [The committee began to watch.]

Karin smelled the cooking fish and turned to her teammate in horror. "Yoichi-san, what are you doing? That fire is too big and you can't cook fish out here." She exclaimed. The shinobi in question felt his neutral position shift against the girl who dared tell him what to do. Working as a team would not have helped them overcome whatever was protecting her but Yoichi would never discover that.

… **Kusagakure Team (Shigeri, Yoichi, Karin) vs Chakra Mutated Bear**

Yoichi was swatted away from the fire by a giant bear paw that ripped off the back of his head. He was already dead when his back broke in four places as his body slammed against a rock outcropping. Karin looked at the devastation in horror. Shigeri was still attempting to get past Karin's protections. Until he heard the roar.

When Shigeri turned his mind did not know how to process what he was seeing. His friend was already dead, that was obvious by the blood and the unnatural position of the body and the monster that was shaped vaguely like a bear had just closed its mouth around the food Yoichi had pulled out. A chomp and a swallow and the bear was looking at the two remaining members of the team.

Shigeri charged. Karin yelled for him to stop. Shigeri was able to get off a few jutsu including the C-rank fire jutsu he was most proud of. Unfortunately, none of it was effective against the bear and the unthinking shinobi had drifted too close. Before Karin could react, the bear had pounced, moving at an unnatural speed and brought its weight down on Shigeri.

Karin shivered at the hateful look her "teammate" gave her, blood leaking out his mouth, just before the jaws of the bear clamped around his head and ripped it off. The bear left its kill to charge the final living creature in the clearing. Karin watched as the little wind dragon tripled in size, becoming visible and met the bear half way between where it was and Karins position.

By the time the bear registered the presence of the wind dragon and was able to have its instincts warn it of a more deadly predator, it was too late. Kazeryu was similar to a clone in that it had a certain degree of autonomy in executing the wishes of its creator. It decided it liked Karin, so as the blades of wind met the bear that killed Karin's tormentor, Kazeryu gave the bear a quick death in honor of the service it had provided.

To Karin's astonished eyes, the wind dragon dressed the dead bear and when the creature was back to the size of a dog she was looking at a stack of meat, a stack of fur and a stack of claws and teeth.

… **Kusagakure Team Wins [Crippled]**

… **Fatality**

… **With Team 7, Training Ground 44 (The Forest of Death), Konohagakure**

Team 7 was up at dawn and moving through the forest at around 11. Both Hinata and Sakura had smiles on their faces. Sex during the Chunin exams was not something many could brag about. Wild sex during the Chunin exams while in the middle of the forest of death was an even more amazing brag. Naruto had even indulged Sakura and given her a spanking and the lingering heat on her ass was something she was very grateful for. Hinata gratitude was for the wonderful breakfast she had been allowed to harvest from her lover, directly.

At the pace they were moving, they would reach the tower in an hour. That was when they felt a spike of chakra. As with most skills, Team 7's ability to sense chakra and feel danger approaching was extremely high. But none of them were chakra sensors. So they were surprised that they were able to sense the chakra spike that was obviously pretty far away.

Deciding to check it out, they took to the trees and covered the 5 miles in about 5 minutes. What they found was devastation. The Oto nin team that had tried to attack the Konoha nin, Kabuto, before the written exam, were on the ground. It was obvious a battle had taken place and they had lost. Naruto was pretty sure at least one member of the team was dead.

In the middle of the clearing, Sasuke was squared up against Kiba and Shino. The last Uchiha was the source of the chakra they had felt as it was pouring off of the boy in waves. Along with the excessive chakra, were the presence of black tattoos that Naruto knew he did not have when they entered the forest.

Kiba and Shino where not looking that great. Akamaru was missing and the two boys had bruises and cuts all over their bodies. Kiba was on both feet but Shino was down on one knee breathing heavily. "I can't believe we bothered to save you." Kiba screamed. Sasuke laughed, but the sound was sinister and dark.

Naruto saw when Sasuke moved and his eyes widened when he saw the fatal nature of the attack Sasuke was using. Even with the Uchiha's obvious power increase, Naruto was still faster and much more powerful. He intercepted Sasuke and deflected his strike. Sasuke recovered quickly and his eye widened in joy at seeing who had stopped him from finally putting his "teammates" in their place.

Uzumaki Naruto was someone Sasuke despised. Unwilling to recognize the reason for his hate as jealousy, he had convinced himself that Naruto had stolen his power from him. The power that Naruto had been showing since the Academy was meant for him, Sasuke had convinced himself. It was meant for him to use to kill his brother and avenge his family and somehow Naruto had stolen it.

But Sasuke had found another source of power. The amount of power he felt was so vast that he could not fathom that anything would be more powerful, and so he looked at Naruto with his famous smirk, feeling a true confidence and arrogance that he had not had since the previous year. "It was not smart of you to interrupt me, Dobe." Sasuke said with a dismissive smile. "Kiba and Shino have not been giving me the proper respect and I was just about to discipline them."

Kiba let out a pained chuckle. The derisiveness of the chuckle was plain even behind the strain the boy was feeling due to pain. Naruto gave him a nod and Kiba moved to Shino and started first aid. A chakra pill and both were feeling much better, though they were still in no shape to fight. And even though he was a bastard, Sasuke's increase in power was immense.

In the tree line, Sakura and Hinata looked at each other and smirked. So close to Sasuke they could feel the massive increase to his chakra reserves, as well, but it was nothing compared to the power they had. Hinata was the weakest of them and her reserves were still vastly superior to the arrogant boy's. That didn't include the decades of skill they had due to the use of clones. Both Sasuke and Orochimaru would be devastated to discover that Naruto's version of the seal Sasuke was now branded with, provided twice as much the power increase to the one the snake had, obviously, put on the "emo".

Both girls let their eyes drift to Kiba and Shino, then they found Akamaru, who was in the wood line. The pup was back on shaky feet and making its way back to its master. Once there it got a pill as well that restored some energy but the dog still climbed into Kiba's jacket and curled up, something it hadn't done in a while. With the three seemingly OK, Hinata and Sakura settled to watch the coming beat down.

Just before the fight started Sakura and Hinata felt the appearance of Teams 9 and 10. Ino settled next to Hinata and Tenten next to Sakura while the remainder of the two teams hovered close. Answering the obvious, yet unasked, question, Hinata said, "We have no idea. We felt a massive chakra spike and when we arrived, the team from Otogakure were on the ground and Sasuke was faced off against Kiba and Shino and both of them looked ready to fall over."

… **Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto vs. Uchiha Sasuke**

Sasuke moved so fast he vanished from the visual perception of all but three people. Unfortunately for him, one of the people who could see him was Naruto. He re-appeared with his fist already moving forward, aiming at Naruto's shoulder. Sasuke wanted the blonde to suffer and planned to break his collar bone before moving on to other bones, then muscle tissue, and so on.

Instead of a satisfying crunch, Sasuke was met by a casual block that knocked his punch wide. His eyes only had time to widen as his overextended form was met by a punch to his stomach that sent him flying back. Naruto pulled the punch. It was enough for Sasuke to feel the pain but not so much that he fell over.

The pain was real though as it took all of Sasuke's anger fueled will not to grab his stomach. Thinking he had not gone as fast as he intended he vanished in another burst of speed, appearing again with his foot in motion to deliver a powerful high kick. Naruto blocked that too. This time Sasuke was ready for the counter and the two ended up trading blows that made them look as if they had multiple pairs of arms and feet.

Punch. Block. Kick. Block. Grapple. Break…

To the people watching, it looked like an amazing taijutsu fight. Rock Lee, especially, was salivating at the notion of fighting either of them. He resolved to tell his sensei about what he saw so that he could get permission to remove his weights when fighting them. For Sasuke, he was livid. He was struggling to keep up and he could see that Naruto was having no problem. At all.

He did not have the skill to continue his taijutsu and form his fire jutsu at the same time so he threw a punch and jumped back from Naruto's block, flying through hand seals before declaring, " Gōkakyū no Jutsu" (Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu) and releasing a fire ball at Naruto from his mouth. There was no doubt about Sasuke's intent in that moment. Sasuke's lethal attack on Kiba had only been noticed by Naruto, but the leaf nin in the trees could all feel the heat and intensity from the fire technique.

Naruto decided in that moment it was time to smack down Uchiha Sasuke. Again. Instead of dodging or countering, Naruto let the fire ball hit him. Or at least appear to hit him. Instead he coated himself in chakra and waited for Sasuke's attack to end. He didn't have to wait long even though Sasuke was very skilled and the attack would kill most people if they were hit fully by it.

Sasuke was smiling in victory when his face fell into shock, confusion, anger, and fear. Naruto appeared from the dwindling fire ball unharmed and kicked him in the face. The blow floored him and when he turned over he found two glowing chakra metal swords. Each one poised over his eyes. "I wonder, little Uchiha, how much of your arrogance is tied to these eyes. What would you be if I dug them out right now."

Sasuke was terrified. The blades were so close that if he blinked he was sure his eyelids would split on the edge of the swords. He still felt power flowing through him but he felt completely helpless. Before he could figure out a response, Naruto flipped one of the swords and knocked him out. That is when Naruto got a good look at the seal on his neck. "Son of a bitch."

… **Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto Wins**

… **Flawless Victory**

The Konoha Shinobi exited the tree line looking at Naruto with respect. They had no idea about the seal or how powerful it had made Sasuke, so they had no real comprehension of how strong Naruto truly was. He was already powerful so none of them really took notice. None except Kiba and Shino. They had fought the improved Sasuke. Kiba didn't know the upper limit of Naruto's power but he knew it was far superior to his own and far greater than he had when they graduated.

Naruto looked around the clearing. Sasuke was unconscious with Orochimaru's seal on his neck. The leader of the Otogakure shinobi was dead with a broken neck and the other two were also unconscious. Kiba and Shino were up and stable but were obviously teetering on the edge of chakra exhaustion. He saw Kiba move to the body of the dead sound shinobi and after searching announced he found the earth scroll they needed.

Shino gave a quick recap of what had happened informing everyone that Orochimaru of the Sannin was in the woods and that the ANBU knew about it. They had arrived after the traitor had bitten Sasuke and had left to chase him. "We got Sasuke settled when the sound nin showed up. We were handling them pretty well when the teme woke up leaking more chakra than I have ever felt." Kiba said with Shino nodding in agreement. "Sasuke broke the lead sound nin's neck and then attacked us", Shino said, "and then you showed up."

Deciding the excitement was over and distracted by his anger and hatred due to his cousin being so close, Neji turned to his team and said, "We're leaving". It was clear neither of his teammates liked the idea of leaving when Orochimaru had been reported in the woods and Uchiha Sasuke had been attacked and marked by some "creepy as fuck symbols" (Tenten), but he was the team leader.

Tenten's crush had truly died since the Chunin exams had started and she had seen the cruel side of Neji, so she would have ignored his direction if not for the fact that the ANBU were already informed. With the proper authorities involved there wasn't a valid reason to not continue with the exam, though she didn't like it. She wished the other Konoha shinobi luck and her and Rock prepared to follow Neji who had already started moving. Tenten jumped into the tree line and Rock looked at Naruto with longing that made everyone uncomfortable before following.

The rookie shinobi all stayed. Something about how fast the Oto nin appeared after the Orochimaru attack did not sit well with Shikamaru and when he mentioned it, both Shino and Hinata nodded in agreement. They went to check the bodies again and found that each had the same mark as the one on Sasuke. That was not a coincidence. There were no rules about what to do with defeated enemies so, like the Iwagakure shinobi, Naruto sealed the dead sound nin in a storage scroll. Hinata and Sakura gathered up the two live ones after Hinata used her jyuken to make sure they wouldn't wake.

With Orochimaru in the woods and Sasuke marked, the rookies decided it was best to get to the tower as fast as possible. Everyone had the two scrolls they needed, so it was agreed that they should just go straight to the tower. Kiba picked up Sasuke and he, Hinata and Sakura took the center position of their formation. A quick look that everyone was ready and they moved as a group into the trees, traveling at full shinobi speed.

They arrived without incident 20 minutes later.

At the tower, Shikamaru quickly solved the riddle and Ino, Kiba, and Naruto all opened their two scrolls. When the massive cloud of smoke cleared, Iruka and three ANBU appeared. Iruka spoke quickly "We are aware about most of what happened. You have all passed the second phase. Follow the ANBU, they are going to take your statements and then lead you to were you'll be staying until phase 2 is complete.


	21. Waiting For It To End

**Chunin Tower, Forest of Death, Konohagakure**

The eight rookies carrying three unconscious shinobi made quite a sight as they were led to a hallway on the second floor of the tower. When they arrived, Sasuke and the two surviving Oto nin were taken from them, along with the scrolls containing the third team member's body and the Iwa nins, and they were instructed to wait to be debriefed. They watched as the Otogakure shinobi were taken to one room while Sasuke was taken into a separate room.

Not long after their arrival another door opened and Team 9 exited. Neji saw the group waiting and scowled at all of them, saving a particularly vicious look for Hinata who met his eyes unflinchingly. Something that the boy obviously did not appreciate. Instead of starting anything, however, the boy spun and stalked off down the hallway. Tenten and Rock gave the group respectful and friendly nods before following their teammate.

Naruto and Sakura's patience with the Hyuga boy was completely exhausted and they both decided, individually, that if given the chance, they would kick his ass. They had little doubt that the Chunin exams would eventually require them to fight each other, one on one, and both of Hinata's lovers wanted to have the chance to face the spoiled asshole.

The group was distracted from thinking about the angry boy, when Nara Shikaku appeared at the door of the room Team 9 had just exited and called Team 10. Ino, Chōji and Shikamaru waved at the remaining group before following Shikaku. As soon as the door closed another opened with Morino Ibiki. He called the remainder of Team 8 to join him.

Hinata, Sakura and Naruto were unsurprised when another door opened and started to move toward it. The person that ushered them into the room was Yamanaka Inoichi. The room was large enough to be a classroom but only had four chairs and a desk. The Jōnin took the single seat on one side of the desk and the three Genin sat in the chairs opposite him. In short order they were telling their story.

… **Room 207, Chunin Tower, Forest of Death, Konohagakure**

"I was able to dodge the wind jutsu and Shino was able to get the snake." Kiba explained to Ibiki, the head of the Torture & Interrogation division. The surveillance that was being done on the Chunin hopefuls had already provided him with most of the information but he asked the two boys to start their retelling from the beginning of the exams to make sure he had not missed anything.

They had reached the part of the story where the crystal ball had been blocked. A kunoichi with a headband from Kusagakure had confronted them after they avoided the wind jutsu and the snake. Ibiki knew that the kunoichi and her entire team had been killed by Orochimaru and he had taken over the kunoichi's body.

"So the crazy lady starts talking weird about how impressed she was at our skill." Kiba said. Shino added "She also had a distinctive laugh. Like ku ku ku. And she kept doing it every time she deflected one of our attacks." The scared man nodded for them to go on. "So the fight was on and I think we did better than she expected because she mumbled that 'this was taking too long' and then literally pulled her body off and Orochimaru stepped out of her mouth." Kiba shivered.

"Then she…he moved faster than I had ever seen and bit Sasuke. He told him to come find him when he wanted more power and then ran into the woods just as the ANBU appeared." Shino said with Kiba nodding. "The ANBU chased after Orochimaru and we carried Sasuke to a cave we had passed when he fell unconscious. About an hour later the Oto shinobi showed up."

The two boys explained their part in the relatively one sided fight. According to the two of them, they were handling the Oto nin pretty easily with Shino facing the tallest boy, Kiba facing the girl and Akamaru running circles around the second boy. "Then we all felt a massive release of power and Sasuke appeared in the same way the ANBU had, except he appeared behind the large Oto shinobi and just snapped his neck." Shino said while shaking his head. At the time, they had been fighting to incapacitate.

The two boys reported that the situation devolved after that. Sasuke knocked out the other two Oto nin then attacked Kiba and Shino. "He was ranting about 'knowing our proper place' and stuff" Kiba said. "When Akamaru tried to help he slapped him away" the boy whispered while he hugged his companion closer to him. The dog whimpering as well.

They explained to Ibiki that they had had to remind Sasuke regularly that they were capable and that even though he was stronger than each of them, he could not beat them as a team. In truth, each of them had been getting closer to being able to take him by themselves. "We had already used up too much chakra in the fight with Orochimaru, so it was mostly taijutsu but he was too fast and kicked me in the chest" Shino said, "Then Naruto showed up."

The explanation of the fight between Naruto and Sasuke was as detailed as the rest of their report. Kiba even mentioned that Naruto was a lot stronger than he had expected. After they finished Ibiki asked them a few clarifying questions, then confirmed that even though Sasuke was hurt, they had made it to the next round. They were also told that a full explanation of the final round would be given in three days when Phase 2 officially ended. They were assigned rooms on the fourth floor and they left to get some much needed sleep.

… **Room 200, Chunin Tower, Forest of Death, Konohagakure**

Naruto was led into the room by the Hokage. After his debriefing, Hinata and Sakura had been sent to the rooms they would be staying in on the fourth floor while the Hokage had told him, seriously, "follow me". In the room, on a hospital bed was a still unconscious Uchiha Sasuke. Ibiki, Inoichi, Shikaku and Anko were also in the room.

Naruto was given a brief explanation of what they had discovered from Kiba and Shino. He was also given more information about their suspicions as to the purpose for Orochimaru's presence in the village. They still believed that the ultimate goal was to kill the Sandaime and now felt they knew the reason the spy, Kabuto, was in the Chunin exams. Orochimaru wanted Sasuke's body for his experiments.

The only other living Uchiha was Itachi and the Hokage doubted Orochimaru could find him and there was reasonable doubt about whether the Snake Sannin could defeat the very powerful ninja. The Intelligence division believed that the curse seal was a trap, to both test Sasuke's power and lore him away from the village with promises of greater power.

Naruto knew where the conversation was heading so just nodded when the Hokage instructed him to remove the seal. Naruto didn't think it would be wise but it was his duty to ask so he asked his surrogate grandfather if he wanted Naruto to give the Uchiha the modified seal he had developed. To his relief, the answer was "no".

The Hokage admitted with sadness that while all of his actions could not be blamed on the last Uchiha, the boy had a lust for power and revenge and he was no longer sure the village had his complete loyalty. "I can make it so he can't receive another seal" Naruto said. All eyes turned to him. He explained. The room was surprised. They knew that Naruto had prevented Hyuga Hanabi form being marked with the caged bird seal but they thought he had targeted it alone. A seal that prevented all other seals was invaluable.

It was Anko that said, "I will give you anything if you put that seal on me". No one missed the raw emotion in her voice or how clear she was that "anything" meant anything. She had been thrilled that Naruto had been able to modify her seal. A joy that had recently been magnified when she had been able to send Orochimaru a jolt of pain before he had escaped the forest completely. But she was still afraid that she would be marked again. Her experience had left her determined not to be controlled ever again.

The Hokage spoke up. "I think Konoha will contract with the Uzumaki clan to have that seal applied to all active Shinobi." Naruto adopted his clan head persona and agreed that they could work out the details at a later date but he would apply the seal right then to any "high risk" candidates. Anko volunteered (demanded) to be first. Sasuke, who had a restraining seal on him that kept him unconscious, was moved from the hospital bed he had been placed on and into a chair.

Anko took his place and when Naruto asked her where she wanted the seal placed. She spread her legs exposing her still panty-less and shaved pussy to him. She also pulled her shirt off, unnecessarily. Naruto hadn't seen her body since she had taken his virginity and taught him how to make love, have sex and fuck as well as the differences between the three. He definitely appreciated the reintroduction. As did the Hokage and the other members of the taskforce.

It didn't matter how serious the situation, Anko never missed an opportunity to be sexy. She arched her back allowing her large E-cup breasts to rise. The attention she was getting caused her pale pink nipples to harden and an aroused flush to come to her body. Her miniskirt sat like a belt at her waist and she had her legs raised and spread with her knees bent and foot hanging in the air.

Naruto did not have to ask where the perverted kunoichi wanted the protective seal and moved between her legs. He pulled his sealing tools from a storage scroll. Applying a permanent seal to skin could be done with regular ink and brush but required additional seals to make it permanent. Naruto viewed that as a shortcut. The proper way to put a seal on skin was to apply a tattoo. That is what Naruto did.

Naruto would never regret sitting between Anko's spread legs practicing his favorite art on the bare pussy mound of one of his precious people while smelling the increasing musk of her arousal while he worked. He positioned the seal right above her clit which was good as his work wasn't disrupted by the slightly viscous fluid that started to drip on the bed at the 20-minute mark.

All the men had to adjust themselves, continually, throughout the "procedure" and when he was done Anko smiled at all the eyes that watched her redress. Applying the seal to the Hokage and the other three members of the task force was not as exciting as they all decided to have it put in benign places like their shoulder or in the Hokage's case, his forearm, next to Naruto's modified heaven seal.

With that done, attention turned back to Sasuke. The curse seal was more advance than the one that had been on Anko. Since they did not want to steal any features from it, the removal was simpler though. Naruto moved it to a pig that had been brought when he requested it. The pig was taken away for further study. Then Naruto put the preventative seal on Sasuke. By the Hokage's request, control of the permissive aspects of the seal was not given to the Uchiha.

It had taken 9 hours for Naruto to complete all of the work and the only reason Hinata and Sakura had not beaten down the door was because the Hokage had sent them a message personally. When it was over, Sasuke was taken to his assigned room and the retention seal removed. He would wake up on his own after that. Before Naruto could leave, Anko pulled him into a hug and a deep kiss. "Tell Hinata and Sakura to be extra naughty on my behalf." She whispered seductively in his ear.

… **Auditorium, Chunin Tower, Forest of Death, Konohagakure**

The clock ticked down the final seconds of the end of Phase 2. Naruto doubted anyone else would make it. In fact, only three teams remained unaccounted for with the rest arriving either successful or after giving up because of a recognition that they could not defeat another team or the severe injury of one of their members.

If things remained unchanged, seven teams would have made it the final phase. Five from Konoha, including all the rookies, One from Sunagakure, the team with the Kazekage's children and one from Iwagakure. It went without saying that the shinobi of Konoha were very pleased with how dominant the leaf village had been.

As the clock hit zero, Naruto's mind drifted to his last four nights. For Hinata, Sakura and Naruto, who had fully adopted the perverted lifestyle, granting Anko's request had been difficult. When everything was on the table and done regularly, how could one be extra naughty. So instead they just sought out Iruka, got his permission, and invited Anko to their bed to thank Naruto personally. Sakura and Hinata had enjoyed their time feasting between her legs as much as Naruto enjoyed having her between his own. Iruka's thank you for allowing Anko's thank you would involve Ino, but that was not until after the end of the Chunin exam.

As entertaining as Anko was, the most interesting thing happened on Naruto's second night in the tower when a surprise came to his door.

… **Flashback**

Karin entered the tower at the center of the forest of death. She had been walking through the forest for two days since her teammates had died and she was a little worried about what would happen to her now. Her storage scroll contained the pelt and teeth of a chakra mutated leopard as well as the bear. Selling it all would net her a nice amount of ryo, but not enough for her to survive on her own indefinitely. She ended up waiting in the entrance hall for five minutes before a nicely dressed woman came and got her.

The woman who she learned was named Hiroshima Yuyu and was the Hokage's personal assistant, took her to a room. In the room, she was asked if she had any unseen injuries that needed attending. After Karin answered in the negative she was asked if was officially conceding from the Chunin exams. Karin told the woman of the death of her teammates and the woman offered her condolences, though it was clear that the woman knew that Karin did not care for them.

The woman took a verbal report from Karin about what happened to her in the forest. Karin was honest about her mysterious protection but did not mention that she could see it and that it was a dragon that was made of wind. It did not matter as the committee had seen the creature when it increased its size to combat the bear. Hiruzen had recognized it as a slightly larger version of the wind elemental his son was working on and assumed it was Naruto's. He correctly assumed the girl's red hair was why Naruto had chosen to protect her.

Once she was "processed" she was given a room on the third floor and told she could either stay to watch the remainder of the exams or leave and return to her village. Karin flinched at the notion of returning to her village. She had no doubt that her little protector would have to spend every waking moment protecting her if she did that. But, truthfully, she was not sure what she would do now that returning to Kusagakure was not an option.

The dragon had been silently leading her since the death of her teammates and she had grown a faith that it would lead her somewhere safe. With her interview concluded and her room assigned she left the room. She made it four steps when she was met by Zōsui. Zōsui was her Jōnin sensei, at least that was how he was listed on the Chunin Exam forms. In truth he was her tormentor. His cruelty had led to her mother's death and she was sure he planned to drain her till she was dead as well. She hated him with all of her being but she had feared him as well.

The protective dragon had given Karin a great deal of confidence and so it was without fear and with all the raw hate she could muster that she answered "no", when the Jōnin demanded she come with him. The man actually stepped back before he gathered himself and returned her hate with his own. She was not cowed, someone had finally sought to protect her. The man in front of her killed her mother as sure as if he had slit her throat with a kunai and she would not tolerate his presence one second longer than she had to. So she stepped around him without another word.

She allowed herself a satisfied smile when she heard his yelp of pain. She had felt his approach and figured he had tried to grab her. Another yelp was heard when he did something else. She turned around when she felt a crash. She was no longer surprised by what her protector could do but still stared in amazement at the beaten state of her greatest tormentor.

Zōsui was against the wall on his butt. The man who took pride in his projected dignity was sprawled unceremoniously on the floor. He was covered in cuts, including a thin slice across his neck that was an obvious warning. Her guardian dragon was fully visible and was "looking" squarely in the surprised Jōnin's eye. When the man looked away the dragon shrank and vanished from normal sight and curled back around her.

Smirk in place, Karin turned and walked away. When she came back to the main room, Karin had a moment of panic as she had no idea what to do when, for the first time, she felt a physical pull from the dragon. She followed the direction of the pull and before long was in front of a door on the fourth floor. Trusting her only friend, she knocked on the door.

The door opened and she blushed. The topless male shinobi that answered the door was around her age but he oozed a confidence and maturity that she was not prepared to handle. She blushed deeply and froze. The dragon didn't talk and she had no idea what to say. She was also completely distracted by the well-defined muscles on his sweaty chest. "Kazeryu!" the blond exclaimed happily.

It took Karin a minute to realize that he was talking to her friend. She was about to pass out from the overload of sensory input when a beautiful purple haired girl wrapped her in a hug and started telling her to breathe. She did not know it, but the girl knew what it was like to pass out from over stimulation. Especially overstimulation caused by Uzumaki Naruto. She was led into the room and seated in a soft chair.

Kazeryu, as she now knew the dragon was named curled at her feet. His presence and the fact he allowed the girl to touch her, helped calm her nerves. A third person, a pink haired girl, brought her a much appreciated cup of tea. When she was clam, she was finally able to introduce herself. "Hello, my name is Karin and the dr..., Kazeryu? Kazeryu led me here."

"I'm glad he did." The blonde started, "This is Hyuga Hinata and that is Haruno Sakura. My name is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said with a small smile. The minute she heard the name, it all made sense to her. It was obvious that Kazeryu belonged to the blonde, and his name explained why he had sent it to protect her. Karin started to cry. It wasn't as dramatic as weeping but it was clear that she was overwhelmed with emotion.

When Naruto drew her into a hug, she buried her head and cried as Naruto held her. When she had calmed some she whispered, "Are you really an Uzumaki?" When he answered in the affirmative, she started to cry again. Eventually she cried herself out and fell asleep in his arms. She did not know it but years of tension, fear and uncertainty had released and left her mentally exhausted.

Karin woke the next morning, wrapped in warmth. She was confused as to why she felt so safe when the memories came back. Her eyes snapped open and she found herself snuggled between Naruto and the purple haired girl, Hinata. She hadn't felt that safe in years and just stayed there enjoying the feeling. "Come on, let's get up and you can tell us about yourself." Naruto said softly.

They got up and she used the attached bathroom to get a shower. The pink haired girl, Sakura, brought her a change of clothes. Casual shirt and shorts that she put on. She came out of the bathroom to find everyone in casual clothes and breakfast waiting at a small table. Kazeryu was curled up on the floor and she smiled at him before sitting down.

Once she ate she told her story. Even though everyone who knew about her in Kusagakure knew her as Uzumaki Karin, her mother had told her that their true name was Uzukaatsu Karin. Her mother had escaped the fall of Uzushiogakure just as Naruto's mother had. Except that she escaped with more members of her clan because the Uzukaatsu had more child age members at the time.

"My mother told me that they became nomadic in the years after the fall, but then in a town on the border of earth and grass countries, she fell in love with a man. The family didn't approve, but she didn't listen. She ran away with him and got pregnant. My father wasn't terrible but he had a gambling problem and it got him killed. The gang that he owed wanted to use my mother and me and so she took me and ran away." Karin explained.

Naruto held in a growl. He wanted to find the town and the people who would try to abuse Karin when she was probably less than 5 years old. Unaware Karin continued, "The grass village took us in and in exchange for protection, my mother agreed to use the Uzukaatsu healing skill." Karin began to get angry "My Jōnin sensei, Zōsui" she spat "was in charge of watching us. There was a huge battle and a lot of shinobi were hurt. My mom was not feeling well but Zōsui forced her to the hospital and let as many people as possible bite her. She died from the strain."

Hinata's hand clamped on to Naruto. She agreed that Zōsui had to die but they would handle it like shinobi and not like idiotic bandits. Naruto calmed at the stern look. His fate was further sealed as Karin explained her treatment at the hands of the man. She was only given shinobi training in an effort to expand her chakra reserves and healing potential and had only been sent to the Chunin exams for Shigeri to be able to feed on if necessary.

With her story complete, Naruto told his own story. When she found out that he was not just an Uzumaki, but the clan head, she started to cry, again. When he told her that he had found the Uzushiogakure treasure and had kept the Uzukaatsu fortune separate, the crying increased. She lost it completely at the announcement that Uzushiogakure was being rebuilt and that she would have a place there.

… **End Flashback**

Naruto had instructed Kazeryu to escort Karin to the Uzumaki compound. Her time in the exams were over and he didn't want her close to Zōsui. He smiled at the memory. She had been extremely excited about meeting the Kitsune and the message he got back from his wind elemental suggested she had become fast friends with the "younger" members of the clan. An official letter to the Hokage informed him of what he had done.

The Hokage assured him it would be fine. All of the elemental nations knew that Konohagakure considered the Uzu to be part of the village and that the clan had a bond with Konoha. Kusagakure was supposed to be an allied village and it was a severe incident to find they had been keeping an Uzu and worse had killed one due to abuse. The Hokage had already sent word to the Kusa council that the life of Zōsui was forfeit as the first part of restitution. Financial compensation for Karin's mother's work as well as for her negligent murder was also expected.

"Congratulations to the seven teams that have successfully completed phase 2 of the Chunin exams" Gekkō Hayate announced. The stands around the auditorium was filled with the losers, their Jōnin sensei and various aids and helpers from the participating villages. Also present were all the proctors and the Chunin Selection Committee. Even the teams that had not made it past phase 2 were still being observed and one or two would be surprised that their coming promotion was finalized during this time.

The 21 shinobi that had made it through to the next round of the exams stood across from the shinobi that seemed to have a persistent cough. Naruto frowned at the cough. The unlikely collaboration of Orochimaru and himself had produced a seal that had given the man and his fellow ANBU the chakra reserves of the Ichibi but the cough had remained.


	22. Chunin Exams: Phase III Preliminary

… **Auditorium, Chunin Tower, Forest of Death, Konohagakure**

Yakushi Kabuto was a spy and one did not survive as a spy in the world of Shinobi without having a steady heart and a strong spirit. It was a refrain that he said to himself often. Over the last few months he had been saying it more often than he had ever had to before. But he finally felt back on solid ground. Looking around at the group of Chunin hopefuls and their Jōnin sensei, he saw that his master's plan was working out nicely.

The absence of Team Dosu and the presence of a scowling and obviously angry Uchiha Sasuke indicated that the foolish Hokage had reacted to Orochimaru's gift exactly as his master had expected. He would find out later if the Uchiha had killed team Dosu or merely incapacitated them, but the confrontation had clearly happened and Sasuke had been given a taste of the power Orochimaru was offering. Sealing that power away, which Sasuke's easily readable face suggested had been done, would only make the boy more likely to follow Orochimaru out of the village.

Looking at him, the boy radiated anger and Kabuto suspected that was due to whatever seal they had forced him to endure. It was likely the same seal they had put on Orochimaru's first success, Mitarashi Anko. That seal required that a person reject the power of the curse seal beneath it but Kabuto could tell just by looking at the Uchiha that he would never limit his own power. Even if the Hokage and his lackeys tried to scare the boy with warnings about what Orochimaru would do to him.

His role now was to recover Team Dosu, dead or alive, Orochimaru had sacrificed them to test Sasuke but would not leave them, even dead, in the hands of Konoha. Not when experiments could be done and Konoha was on the verge of destruction. Kabuto's eyes shifted to the Sunagakure shinobi. Convincing the village in the sand to betray Konoha had been easier than his master had suspected. The release of the Ichibi in the middle of Konoha would be the perfect distraction to whisk the Uchiha away and the destruction of Konoha would make a nice bonus.

The loss of the sound village's Genin team meant that Orochimaru would not appear as their Jōnin sensei and would not be able to see more of Sasuke's abilities and he had a mission that would draw him away from the preliminary matches that he knew were about to take place. That had been planned for as Sasuke's defeat of Dosu's team told them enough. He would make sure to get the report at the same time he collected the bodies.

His thoughts conveniently met with the real world when the proctor, after explaining that they would be required to participate in a preliminary fight, took that moment to ask if anyone was unable or unwilling to move forward. Kabuto raised his hand, "Yes, my chakra still hasn't recovered. I'm withdrawing." The shinobi with the cough barely looked at him and just waved him away.

He left to complete his next part of the plan. He had to find out what happened to the Otogakure team. They had a part to play in the next phase weather they were alive or dead.

… **Auditorium, Chunin Tower, Forest of Death, Konohagakure**

Uchiha Sasuke was angry. Everything was wrong. He had finally gotten the power he felt was rightfully his. He was no fool and knew that the power had come from whatever Orochimaru did to him when he bit him. But he did not care. He was actually thankful. No one around him understood that nothing was more important than getting strong enough to kill his brother, Itachi. As far as Sasuke was concerned, if Orochimaru was willing to give him what he needed to do that then he would take that power.

After killing Itachi he would do Konoha a service and kill Orochimaru as well. He had no doubt that if he was powerful enough to kill his brother then not even one of the "Legendary Three" could stand before him. But something had been done to him. From the moment he woke up with Orochimaru's mark, he had felt a connection to it, waiting for him to call on its powers. He had reveled in it, but even though the mark was still there, the connection was gone.

When he had awoken after being beaten, again, by Naruto, a fact that left him burning with rage, he had been told by Kakashi what had happened. "We suspect that the corruptive nature of the seal Orochimaru put on you caused you to attack your teammates. After Naruto was able to stop you, Kiba and Shino discovered they had the scroll you needed." Kakashi told him. His sensei went on to explain that he was carried to the tower in time for him to place a seal on him that blocked access to Orochimaru's "dangerous" seal.

Sasuke's anger had come perilously close to overcoming his good sense. He knew he had not been able to hide his frustration at that news from his sensei, but he at least was smart enough to not lash out. They did not understand, so he was not surprised they would try to block him from the power he needed. The seal that gave him power was still present he just needed to get to it. He returned his attention to the coughing shinobi.

The coughing shinobi explained, after the Hokage had delivered his congratulations, that progressing through the exams only gave each Genin more opportunities to prove themselves worthy of promotion, but that progressing did not guarantee it. He even let slip that some who had failed in Phase 1 and Phase 2 were still under consideration for promotion.

"Phase 3 of the exams are split into two parts, the preliminaries and the finals. The preliminaries start today and the finals in one month." Gekko Hayate explained. "The preliminaries will show us how you handle an unexpected fight and the finals, if you make it, will show us how you prepare. Before I announce the first match-up, does any feel they cannot continue?"

Sasuke watched in disinterest as the Konoha shinobi they had met earlier showed why he had been to seven exams and never passed, when he gave up due to some chakra exhaustion. He scoffed at his fellow leaf shinobi, disgusted. Sasuke looked around the room at the remaining 20 shinobi that would be participating. Other than Naruto he was confident he could beat them all, once again conveniently forgetting that he had not graduated second but third in his class and there was a kunoichi in the room that it would be a mistake for him to underestimate. Regardless, that he still could not beat the 'blonde bastard' irked him very much.

… **Auditorium, Chunin Tower, Forest of Death, Konohagakure**

Gekko Hayate brought the groups attention to a display that hung above the auditorium. Names were scrolling past each side, too fast to see, with the word 'vs.' in between. It stopped and read the first match. Hayate called out loud "Akimichi Chōji versus Benkei Kogane". The rookie Konoha shinobi stepped forward as did the nin from Iwagakure.

The remaining shinobi left the fighting arena and found their Jōnin sensei waiting for them in the stands. Teams gathered with their sensei. Those who had arrived that day took time to brief and be briefed about the second Phase. The stands also had a more than a few eliminated Genin who chose to stay and watch the remainder of the Chunin exams.

The Akimichi had a jutsu aided taijutsu style of fighting. They used their body shifting jutsu that used chakra to temporarily increase their muscle density and muscle size. It did not only make them stronger and faster but it also gave them an armor affect that made them resistant to weapon attacks and physical affect jutsu. At full mastery, the Akimichi believed they could achieve full invulnerability, though no one had achieved that yet. Their style required a great deal of calories which was why the Akimichi were also famous for their appetite.

Chōji had adapted his family's style in a few revolutionary ways. First, he worked hard to increase his own baseline strength and muscle density. He also found that through ritualistic eating and meditation he could control how his body processed the food he ate. Finally, he had experimented with different types of food and their results and had developed a nutrition plan that would provide his body with the best type of fat for chakra conversion.

Benkei Kogane was from a shinobi clan and had a taijutsu based specialty, as well. In Iwagakure, the Benkei clan was known for having a technique that produced rock golems. Made from surrounding earth and rock the golem was very strong and deceptively fast. The amount of concentration it required gave it a similar limitation to the mind switch jutsu and puppetry in that the caster was vulnerably while the jutsu was active. The most skilled master in the Benkei clan could create two, usually set up to have one defend and the other attack.

… **Akimichi Chōji vs. Benkei Kogane**

"Hajime"

Chōji instantly channeled chakra and grew in size. He had developed multiple modification forms, the one most people saw made him look like a muscle head. The form he chose was his strongest and made him look like a sumo wrestler. His base form was only 5 feet 7 inches tall but he grew to well over 6 feet under the effects of the jutsu.

At the same time Kogane dropped a flash grenade before running through 15 hand seals. The reason for the flash grenade was made obvious to those paying attention when Sasuke grunted in pain. He had his Sharingan activated to steal jutsu which was something Iwagakure was used to when fighting Konoha nin. The flash grenade had chakra disruptive properties and looked like a small sun to the Uchiha eyes.

When the light cleared the golem was formed and already headed for Chōji. The bright light acting as an even more effective distraction to non-Sharingan holders. The golem made it to Chōji before the boy could recover and hit him with a devastating uppercut that sent the young Akimichi off of his feet. Unfortunately, for the Iwa Genin, the hit hurt but was not incapacitating.

Chōji rolled backward after he fell and retook his feet. What followed was a relatively fast, high impact taijutsu fight between the two power houses. Chōji had to break the golem apart till the chakra could no longer hold it together. That was while Kogane's chakra worked to pull the golem back together every time Chōji removed a piece.

When he was done, both he and his opponent had used up a lot of Chakra. Thinking that Chōji would be easy to knock out with his body modification jutsu exhausted the Iwagakure shinobi, who was still physically fresh rushed at the Konoha shinobi. Unfortunately, for Kogane, Chōji had trained to fight both with his jutsu and without and even without his jutsu his body was strong, powerful and fast. In a blink, Kogane was unconscious after being caught with a two punch and spinning kick combo that he had not seen coming.

… **Akimichi Chōji Wins**

Naruto stood with his team and his Jōnin sensei in the stands watching the fight. Chōji's use of his family's jutsu was very impressive and Naruto could not help but wonder how the tailed beast power would affect that jutsu if it was the first used after absorption. It was a thought he constantly had as he encountered new jutsu and family specialties.

The same was true for the jutsu of the Iwagakure shinobi. He was now intimately familiar with the depth of hatred Iwagakure had for his family and him as its only current member, and survival dictated that he viewed all Iwagakure citizens and shinobi as enemy. But that did not mean that he could not appreciate the jutsu or how effective it could be. In fact, it seemed similar to his fire and wind elemental dragons in that they were like golems for his use.

He would have liked to learn that jutsu but could still hear the mumbling from Sasuke as he occasional rubbed his eyes. It was a smart thing to prevent a known Uchiha from being able to copy your jutsu, so he at least respected what the Iwagakure shinobi did. He especially liked that it had also irritated Uchiha Sasuke. "Teme" he thought to himself with a smirk.

The next few fights were interesting, if not memorable. Tenten beat a Konoha nin named Akadō Yoroi who had been on the same team as Kabuto. Tenten won because Yoroi's main attack was to drain his enemy's chakra. Since Tenten was a weapons mistress, his attack did not hinder her as much as it would have a primarily jutsu user like Sasuke and Shikamaru.

Shikamaru ended up fighting Shino and that was the most boring of fights as the two were at heart strategists, and they spent most of their 10 minute fight probing each other's defenses and avoiding each other's traps. Shino avoided Shikamaru's shadow trap three times and Shikamaru avoided Shino's bugs twice.

Unfortunately for Shikamaru, Shino hid a few bugs in his shadow and then purposely tripped Shikamaru's third shadow trap and was able to drain the shadow user's chakra through his own shadow manipulation. At the end of the fight the two went off together discussing what they had done. Knowing Shino's bisexual nature and Shikamaru's respect of intellectual equals, Naruto heard Ino mention to Chōji that they might have been watching a seduction as much as a fight.

"Haruno Sakura vs. Sabaku no Temari" Hayate called out and Naruto gave his girl a kiss. He let his hands caress her toned ass and pressed his body against hers. When he released her he smacked her ass, hard, and ordered her to win. He was able to hear the Ichibi container give a similar order to his sister, though his order was more of a threat, and didn't include the encouraging caresses.

Sakura had dedicated herself to surpassing one of her heroes, Senju Tsunade, the Sannin. She had already gained all the tools necessary to accomplish it. Massive chakra reserves connected to a near perfect level of chakra control. Because she had pumped her initial amount of enhanced chakra into her muscles, her normal strength was already approaching the Slug Princess' jutsu strength. Her goal was to find Tsunade and convince her to train her and then fully surpass her.

Temari was the eldest child of the Yondaime Kazekage. She had an inherited wind affinity that was already rated at near Jōnin level when she graduated from Sunagakure's shinobi academy. In another life, she might have already made Chunin or might have been approaching Jōnin but in this life she was her baby brother's guard and companion. More truthfully, she was his babysitter.

She was not ashamed or resentful of that role as she loved her brother deeply, despite his cruelty and bloodlust and despite her absolute fear of him. In her heart of hearts, she knew one day a price would be paid for all the treachery, death and suffering she had allowed her brother and family to commit and she had long been ready to pay that price. Her only hope was that when the time came her sacrifice would save her brother. Her greatest fear and her greatest expectation was that her death would come at the hand of her insane brother.

… **Haruno Sakura vs.** Sabaku **no Temari**

"Hajime"

The emergence of Sakura kanabō was not surprising to the Chunin hopefuls as they had seen her draw it in the first phase of the exams. But the vast majority of the Jōnin, even those from Konoha, had not known she had it. In the Konoha stands, Kurenai looked over to Asuma in surprise. Her mind could still not accept that Sakura and Hinata (and Haku) were happy in their relationships and didn't understand why Asuma would teach the girl to use such a powerful weapon. Or why the pink haired girl had not used it on Naruto's balls.

Temari smiled to herself. A kanabō was a powerful and deadly weapon in the right hands, but even at its best it would be slow to the swiftness of the wind she could control with her fan. Full of confidence she taunted Sakura, "I'll let you strike first. Let's see if you can drag that big stick and hit me with it, Pinky." Temari had just started to laugh at her own joke when Sakura moved.

Temari was truly surprised at the speed of the leaf nin but still had enough time to open her fan to the first moon. She generated a gust of wind and was amazed that the kanabō strike tore right through it and aimed for her head. She had enough sense to duck it but found herself on her back when Sakura followed with a low sweep kick.

"You may want to take this fight seriously." Sakura warned as she stepped back and let the head of her war club hit the ground. She leaned on the handle and said, "In case you are wondering, I used the weight of my club to pull me through your wind attack." She said. Sakura smiled as she saw Temari believe her lie. It was actually her massive chakra and earth affinity that allowed her to stay grounded during the relatively weak wind attack. Well weak to Sakura.

Temari jumped up and opened her fan to the third moon, skipping the second. She was embarrassed and angry and she could hear both her brother's jeering her in the stands. Gaara was calling her pathetic and Kankuro was doubting her chances at winning. She started moving around the arena at high speed molding chakra and generating wind. In less than 30 seconds the center of the arena looked like a tornado had touched down and at the center of the high winds was a calmly standing Sakura.

Her massive club had its head still in the ground and Sakura was still leaning against it. Then in a movement too fast for anyone to follow, she had the club in her hand like a baseball bat and then she swung. No one had seen Temari since the tornado had started, but they had heard her. Her voice was coming from the winds and from all directions and she had been taunting the pink haired kunoichi. That was until…THWAK!

The sound of a studded wooded club striking Temari's ribs made almost the entire room wince. Those with sensitive hearing like the Inuzuka actually heard a couple ribs break. Anyone who missed the first two sounds didn't miss the sound of the blond girl's body hitting the wall of the arena. Most were impressed that the blonde stayed conscious long enough to try and stand, before her body fell over and medic nin ran out to get her.

… **Haruno Sakura Wins**

… **Flawless Victory**

Sakura's fight had been brutal and it was clear she outmatched the Sunagakure kunoichi. The match would have been the talk of the day if Temari's brother, Gaara had not been in the very next match. He faced off against the second Iwagakure shinobi, Yakumo Anzai, and killed him almost immediately. He captured the boy in sand and then compressed the sand quickly. Killing the boy.

Some people thought it was in response to his sister's defeat, but those who knew better, knew it was because he was bored. The boy had no real ambition to become a Chunin, he just wanted a good fight that would, in his words, "prove his existence". Naruto was one of those who knew better, and he wished Karumi was back from her exile so he could get more information on the Ichibi Jinchūriki.

Kiba beat the final Iwagakure shinobi with his beast fang technique and the third and youngest sand sibling beat Kabuto's last teammate. Both victories were flashy but neither lasted longer than three minutes. Naruto pretended not to notice the Iwagakure team looking at him with hate filled eyes. He was sure if he was closer he might be tickled by their killing intent.

The next fight was between Sasuke and Ino. All the Jōnin present as well as the Hokage who had watched all the matches started to shake their head in pity for the Yamanka. It was well known that she was no longer the fan girl of her early academy days, but her specialty was thought to be seduction, which was something the singularly focused Sasuke was completely immune to. They were surprised at the intensity that all the Konoha Genin had in looking at the match.

… **Uchiha Sasuke vs. Yamanaka Ino**

"Hajime"

"You should forfeit." Sasuke said as an opening, "I have no interest in hurting you and fighting would be a waste of both our time." It was something he truly believed. Without his Sharingan he could beat the girl. He had no interest in her, especially as she had become an open slut, but that did not mean he had any interest in embarrassing her in a one sided fight. What happened next was the most amazing thing that many had ever seen. Not because of power but because of the audacity.

"Why didn't you save me?" came the pleading voice of Mikoto Uchiha.

When the fight started Ino had gotten to work immediately. She knew Sasuke and knew that he would waste time posturing about how unworthy he felt she was to even fight him. In that time, she used a modified version of her mind switch jutsu. She didn't stay long because she knew if he realized she was in his mind he had the power to expel her. She took the time to plant some minor suggestions and a "fog" that would make his thinking less rational.

Then she dived into his memories. What she found was horrid. What Itachi had done to him was terrible but for her purposes it was better than she could have hoped for. She got a few details about his relationship with his mother and then memorized her voice. The last thing she did before she left was open him up a bit more to the emotions he felt, when his mother died. She braced herself for the next part. Her ability with voices was very good but this would be the first time she had to get it right on the very first attempt.

In the real world, only 45 seconds went by.

Ino's skin peeled off of her like flowing water and in her place was Uchiha Mikoto, with a sword through her belly. She fell to her knees and coughed up some blood. In response, a truly livid Sasuke made the hand signs and screamed "kai". His Sharingan was practically glowing and the wave of disruptive chakra was so powerful that the whole room felt it. A few cosmetic genjutsus collapsed as did the mask that Kakashi used to cover his face. Luckily, no one noticed.

The only genjutsu used had been the peeling effect and that had already run its course.

What did not change was the dying Uchiha, who said "You can still save me, Sochi-ho." Sasuke collapsed to his knees. "Sochi-ho" was something only his mother called him, and he had not heard it in years. He shook his head. It had to be a genjutsu, but he had not been able to disrupt it.

Sasuke repeated genjutsu disrupting jutsu four more times, it grew in power each time, but his mother just kept coughing up blood. She referred to two more little known interactions between her and her son, a time his father had banished him to the garden for not meeting the man's standard in his taijutsu and his mother had taught him to press flowers while comforting him and the words she said to him when she had tried to hide him in cupboard when Itachi attacked.

After drawing Sasuke sorrow to the surface, she said, "I should have loved you more than Itachi." Then the woman pulled the sword from her body. Sasuke decided he would find out about the treachery after he got his mother help. He did take notice that the sword was definitely Itachi's. Ino had henged it from a wakizashi she had carried with her.

"Medics!" he screamed as he came close to the mother that could not be his mother but still left him confused. "They can't come until the match is over, Sochi-ho." she said softly and Sasuke yelled "I forfeit" when his mother fell over. "Thank you, my love." She said before she stilled and then Sasuke fell over in a dead faint.

When he was out, Ino removed the henge and rose to her feet and looked at the shell-shocked proctor.

… **Yamanaka Ino Wins**

… **Flawless Victory**

Everyone in the building that knew about the Uchiha massacre and what had been done to Sasuke looked at Ino as if she was a demon that would destroy their soul if they lost track of her. Some, like the Hokage, Kakashi and Asuma, shared the trepidation but were also impressed at Ino's use of a henge. A henge was easier to detect than a genjutsu but almost impossible to dispel and did not affect the environment. More importantly, the Sharingan didn't see through it.

The fact that Ino belonged to a family of mind jutsu specialist suggested that she did something in addition to the henge but none of them had detected it. The only thing they had all seen was the knock out poison she had used after Sasuke had forfeit. They all new that was a good idea because nothing would have stopped Sasuke from killing her if he had been awake when the henge dispelled.

Honestly, He might still kill her once he found out what happened. Ino made it all the way back to her seat among the Konoha rookies. None of them looked at her with any fear or malice. It was the first rule of seduction. "Seduction is not about sex, it is about passion" they all remembered Anko-sensei telling them. Sasuke's passion did not revolve around lust and pleasure, it revolved around revenge and despair and Ino had seduced him with it.

A still shaken Hayate, looked back up to the board and called the next two competitors, "Rock Lee vs. Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. The two competitors made their way to arena. Rock Lee's personality was so boisterous that it lifted the awkwardness that Ino had left in her wake.

Sakura and Hinata watched the fight between Naruto and Rock Lee with a smile on their faces. Their Naruto really liked the other boy and that was evidenced by the fact that he matched the weird spandex wearing boy for enthusiasm. They could both see the confused horror on the face of the proctor as he had to stand between the two hyperactive boys as they talked.

Rock Lee (and Might Guy) was surprised when Naruto insisted that they both remove all their training weights. With approval from his sensei, Rock Lee removed his weights and so did Naruto. Twin craters were created in the arena when the two boys through them to the side. The surprises continued when Naruto insisted that no matter what they do not use the "gates", because they could hurt themselves with their enthusiasm. Rock Lee pouted when his sensei agreed with Naruto's wisdom.

No one was able to describe what happened next as the two boys were moving too fast for anyone to comprehend. It sounded like rolling thunder clouds, if the sound was made up of flesh impacting flesh. Nothing but the sound existed for 3 minutes and then both boys reappeared. They both stood for a full minute before Rock Lee fell over, knocked out. Oddly, he had a huge smile on his face.

The final fight was between Hyuga Hinata and Hyuga Neji.

Hyuga Neji was a troubled person who had used up every ounce of sympathy anyone could have for him by his behavior. It did not matter the tragedy that affected others, he had no empathy for the person as he believed that his personal tragedy was worse. He had lost his father at a young age when the man, the twin brother of Hyuga Hiashi, had been sacrificed in the name of peace. Then, the caged bird seal had been placed on him shortly after his father's death and it left him with a fatalistic world view that saw every person's life decided by fate and out of their control.

Somehow, he managed to merge that view with an enormous ego, where he believed himself impossible to defeat because fate had decreed it so. He also had a deep hatred for the main branch members of the Hyuga family who he held responsible for the death of his father and his own unhappy life, ignoring the inherent hypocrisy of believing that fate is immutable but holding someone responsible for anything. His hatred extended especially to his cousin Hinata who he saw as an undeserving beneficiary of fate's plans.

Hyuga Hinata was a powerhouse in taijutsu. She had adapted her family's gentle fist fight style to her own and at full speed she could, literally, powder a person's bones inside their body. That was without using the power that coursed through her. Shadow clones had allowed her to perfect her gentle fist style to that level. She would not do that to Neji but the Cheshire grin on her face suggested she had a plan and it was not something he would enjoy.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other in happy gratification. They had each wanted to be the one to face Neji as they didn't think Hinata would give the rude, disrespectful boy the thrashing he deserved, but the look on her face told them both that they had underestimated her and the two eagerly moved to the rail wanting to watch every second of what was about to happen.

… **Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata**

"Hajime"

"Fate has decreed that you will lose this fight!" Neji instantly declared. "You should go back to hiding behind the accomplishments of your teammates." His words created a wave of silence. Not because anyone thought them to be particularly hurtful or because people were surprised someone could say such a thing to a member of their own family. The silence was because of the ridiculousness of the statement.

The power and ability Hinata showed regularly was not her true capability, but it was very impressive and no one with any sense would believe she had to hide behind the accomplishments of others. His blindness to reality officially ended the crush that Tenten had on him. Discovering that would be his eventual low point as he had planned to accept Tenten's "love" at some point in the future, thinking she would wait for his acceptance.

Neji was prepared for a few reactions to his words. "If she is smart..." he thought "…she will forfeit. Or she may rage against the truth and attack and I will have to show her she cannot defy her own fate." Instead Hinata dropped from her fighting guard and looked at him with pitying eyes. "You truly are sad and pathetic. So lost.", Hinata said. Neji exploded in rage. He had no idea where it came from, but Hinata pitying him and looking down on him instantly tapped into a deep well of hate he had and all he saw when he looked at her was the main family and all it had done to him.

His speed was impressive but not that much so. His eyes were blazing with his active Byakugan as he struck at her. Unfortunately for him she just blocked all his strikes. One handed. Hinata had taken a loose dismissive stance that sensei typically took with their youngest and least knowledgeable students. One foot pointed at him with her legs less than shoulder width a part. Her right hand rested in the base of her back and blocking all attacks with her left hand. A bored look on her face.

Neji had been disrespectful and rude to his cousin for years but he had never been so disrespectful as she was being by treating his effort with so little respect or concern. She was intently looking at him with a face full of judgement that screamed that he was unworthy. In response, his anger grew and he started to use strikes and combinations meant to kill.

They had no effect. Instead she taunted him. "Neji-chan, you would try to hurt your cousin so much. Why do you wish to see me dead, Neji-chan?" Her voice was calm and almost childish and it grated on Neji soul because it had lost all the warmth Hinata usually used when speaking to him. Then she struck. Neji thought he was stuck in the midst of a typhoon.

He had refused to believe what he had heard about Hinata's improvement. He had refused to believe what he had seen. But now he would feel it. She moved so fast he could not keep up and each strike that hit him not only closed a tenketsu point but it rocked his body like one of Might Guy's punches. In addition to the shock of his disconnected chakra, and the pain of her strikes, was a bit of lightning that lit up his nervous system with pain.

When she was done, he was on his knees breathing hard, with his hitai ate on the floor and in more pain than he had ever been in his life. On top of that he was on the edge of an internal crisis as his belief in fate had been shook. Then she shattered that belief when she appeared in front of him and struck the center of his forehead where his seal was and destroyed it before placing a seal on him to replace it, though the second seal vanished once it was formed.

Neji only had time to gasp before Hinata knocked him out with a devastating round house kick. She left the arena without sparing her cousin a glance.

… **Hyuga Hinata Wins**

… **Flawless Victory**


	23. A Lot Can happen In 30 Days

**AN:**

 **I would like to thank everyone who pointed out that I used Temari "married" name in the previous chapter when I referred to her as Nara Temari. I apologize for the error and blame a combination of bad research and over dependence on CTRL-C. It has been corrected.**

… **Auditorium, Chunin Tower, Forest of Death, Konohagakure**

The ten preliminary round victors were once again gathered on the floor of the auditorium. Gekko Hayate looked at each of them in the face for a moment before congratulating them on reaching the "next phase of the exams". While he spoke to them, Mitarashi Anko entered the arena carrying a basket. She moved to behind Hayate's left shoulder and waited. Then a giant bracket lowered from the ceiling behind them both, drawing the attention of the hopefuls. It was set up for 10 participants.

When he had their attention again, Hayate explained to them the true purpose of the Chunin exams. "It is not only a means to discover who is worthy of promotion but it also acts as an attempt to avoid war." He spoke in a voice meant for the entire stadium, not just the ten hopefuls. "The hope…" he said "…being that through controlled conflicts between members of villages, bad blood will have an outlet to be purged before it escalates to another major conflict. In addition, the matches allows each village to show off for the various Daimyo and advertise the skills and abilities of their village."

After the explanation, he went on to say, "In one month's time we will meet again in the academy arena. Representatives from all over the elemental nations will come to Konohagakure. The highlight of that trip will be the finals of the Chunin exams. You will draw numbers from the basket Anko-san is holding and it will mark your place in the final tournament."

Anko stepped to each Genin and gave them an opportunity to draw a number. Hayate noticed the proud smile Anko gave Ino when she presented the basket to her. Hayate was not surprised. What Ino had done to defeat Sasuke was worse than any physical beating. She had mind fucked him in less than 3 minutes. Hayate had no doubt that the Yamanaka was destined to join her father in the T&I division.

When everyone had a number, he had them each call it out and then he wrote their names in the appropriate place on the giant bracket. When he was done the left column of the bracket tree read,

1\. Hyuga Hinata

10\. Yamanaka Ino

3\. Higurashi Tenten

8\. Sabaku no Kankuro

5\. Inuzuka Kiba

6\. Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto

4\. Aburame Shino

7\. Akimichi Chōji

2\. Sabaku no Gaara

9\. Haruno Sakura

"It is your responsibility to prepare yourself for the battle you are to face. Good luck. Dismissed." Hayate announced and then left the Arena.

Of the ten finalists, eight were from Konoha and seven of those eight were from the most recent graduating class. Word had already spread through the village and Konaha was in high spirits as the heirs of the major clans were represented in the finals. The power of the Konoha shinobi clans and thus Konoha was on display. By the following day word would spread far and wide about the impressiveness of the most powerful of the five great shinobi villages.

 **...Undisclosed Hospital facility, Konohagakure**

The preliminary matches had ended and Kakashi stood over a hospital bed that currently had his "student" strapped to it. The straps were reinforced by chakra seals and he was wearing special chakra suppressing gloves. The calmness of the boy sitting in the bed was not reflective of the anger that permeated the room.

At the height of the tantrum that Sasuke had thrown when he awoke in the hospital bed, the boy had released Jōnin level killing intent and had raged against Yamanaka Ino. The level of depravity the boy had sunk to in the things he threatened to do to her was unfathomable. Listening to him was a reminder to Kakashi about how much more dangerous the life of a kunoichi was in comparison to a male shinobi.

Kakashi was only present because the boy had finally calmed down, though he was sure that calm was not to last. Kakashi was about to tell Sasuke that he was being removed from the shinobi program for an indefinite amount of time. With the Hokage firmly in control of the village, the civilian council could not prevent him from doing what was necessary and Sasuke needed mental help and guidance. The trauma from his childhood had not been addressed and Uchiha Sasuke was a danger to himself and to Konoha.

Down the hall from Uchiha Sasuke's room, two rooms sat adjacent to each other. The rooms held the surviving members of the Oto nin team. Neither had severe injuries that required an extended hospital stay but the Hokage had decided to house them in the secret hospital. It was clear that Orochimaru was on the move and that the sound village and their shinobi were involved and regardless of the efforts of the spy ring, the snake Sannin had intimate knowledge about the villages most secure places as he had been a high level member of the Konoha forces before his betrayal.

"The bastard probably knows about this place" the Hokage thought bitterly. The only people who knew it was operational, however, was himself, Kakashi and the task force. Not even his ANBU knew the site was up and running as he only came here when the ANBU members of the task force were guarding him.

A year ago, he would have thought that he was being overly paranoid but with the re-igniting of his will of fire had also come a re-acceptance of the truth of what it meant to walk the path of the shinobi. Konoha's prosperity and peace had seduced him into complacency and the darkness had almost overtook him and his beloved village. No more. It was time to find out what was happening. The Hokage nodded toward Anko who entered the first room. It was time to get some answers.

… **Women's Side, Hot Springs, Konohagakure**

Yūhi Kurenai sighed as she sank into the warm water. She had been avoiding the hot springs because of the "changes" but the stress of the Chunin exams had finally gotten to her. Despite her anger and frustration at how her students behaved, they were still her students. She had taught them to the best of her ability and worried for their safety as they participated in what was basically, death matches.

Her students had all done well with two of them making it through to the final round. She had not made it that far in the Chunin Exams she participated in that led to her promotion. She was confident that like herself, Shikamaru, her final student, had shown enough to be promoted and she felt pride at that. Despite the difficult start to her relationship with him, she found she was also proud of Chōji's progress to the final round. In many ways, he had benefitted the most from the chakra control she had taught them.

Her thoughts drifted to her single female student and she felt the hot water fight her muscles as they tried to tense up again. She had always noticed the similarities between Ino and her former friend, Anko. But she was not even sure Anko would have done what she saw Ino do. "Yes, she would" she thought ruefully.

Where she had come to terms with Chōji, Ino and her continued to have a contentious relationship. She did not let it affect her training but it was clear that Ino was firmly on the side of perversion and had become as big a slut as Anko was. It was also true that Ino held Kurenai in contempt for her views about women and sexuality. The fact that she had come to accept Chōji and Shikamaru's promiscuity but still looked down on Ino only made the issue worse.

Kurenai understood what was happening. Logically she realized that her and her female student had differing views on what was proper for a woman. The problem was that she was having more and more trouble articulating her point. She was intelligent and could recognize the hypocrisy in her behavior. To forgive the boys for being sexual "deviants" while condemning the girl was not easy to defend. She also found it harder to justify her view that all men were sexual predators even in cases where they were obviously the victims of a seduction and not the instigator.

It all left her feeling adrift. She still believed that men could not be trusted and that they should be blamed for all sexual perversion but her belief had shifted from something she considered empirically true to something she held as faith. That's when she heard the giggles. The giggler was obviously male and her mind instantly reverted and she prepared to attack whatever pervert was peeping on her. Then she heard multiple female giggles and her mind reset, remembering why she had not visited the hot springs in so long.

The Konohagakure hot springs, like much of the village had been greatly affected by the shift in the village's ideals. Tradition still held that there be a male and female side to the springs available, but the separators had been reorganized and a third area was opened. The third area was the mixed gender area.

It had only lasted a week before it had to be expanded. The mixed area was now the largest part of the hot springs. Generally, no one had sex in there but the flirting was at a max and it was common to see a lot of groping. The hot spring had also added bathing services in the mixed area where a patron could pay to be bathed by a scantily clad or fully nude "Nyūyokusan" of either gender.

The beautiful young people who were employed as Nyūyokusans did not provide full sexual services (for pay) but were trained in many of the same seduction techniques Anko taught as well as being skilled in services like massage. Since the mixed area hot springs were open, the Nyūyokusan also received training similar to geisha and would play music, or engage in stimulating conversations. More "lude" behaviors did happen but was at the discretion of the Nyūyokusan.

The manager of the hot springs rotated their duties between individual service and open service. Most of the Nyūyokusan were either geisha who were willing to do more or prostitutes who wanted to do less. In the end, the Konohagakure hot springs were growing a reputation for being one of the greats of the elemental nations.

Kurenai was in the women only section of the hot springs. And even to her traditionalist sensibilities it was a sad place to be. It could only hold 4 or 5 women after the recent changes and was not served as well as the mixed area. A fact that was obvious due to the ability to hear the soft music, delicate voices and happy laughter through the divider.

Kurenai had already watched an older woman finally give up and move from where she was in the women's section to the other side of the divider and Kurenai felt dejected as if she had lost yet another battle that she had not even known she was in. As usual when faced with the changing world that she was not ready for, the Kunoichi started to become angry. Then she heard something that set her off.

"Jiraiya-sama! Come and read Icha Icha to us."

… **Mixed Area, Hot Springs, Konohagakure**

Jiraiya of the Sannin was in heaven. He had searched the elemental nations for his version of heaven, full of naked, willing girls, and had found it right where he had started. At home. As he walked into the mixed area of the hot springs he once again chastised himself for not coming back to the village earlier but he could not have known that the village would have embraced his way of thinking so much.

Word had reached him that Mitarashi Anko had taken over the seduction classes in the academy and he had giggled perversely to himself, knowing that Anko was like him, a proud pervert. At the time, he promised himself to visit her class when next he was in the village.

It had taken another four months before the stories about Konoha becoming more "pervert-friendly" truly reached him and another month before he believed them. Even that belief was guarded as he thought that the reports were probably exaggerated. When word reached him that his godson had been entered in the Chunin exams and that his old teammate, Orochimaru, was making suspicious moves, he finally made his way back home.

… **Flashback**

The last few hours of his trip back to Konoha found Jiraiya contemplative. He was heading back to Konoha after years away to see his godson and investigate reports of Orochimaru in the area. He would arrive a week before the beginning of the exam and be able to visit the boy before helping in the investigation. It wasn't until he started to recognize the familiar roads leading to the leaf village that he really started to think of what and who he had left behind.

At the time, it had made perfect sense to him. He was not father material nor was he a person that was comfortable being tied down. Leaving Naruto in the care of the village seamed right. After all, he would be treated as a prince due to the Yondaime's last request.

He had, of course, received word that the boy was not being treated as well as he had intended or expected and as he drew closer to his home village, he found himself unable to remember the excuses he had used to leave the boy uncared for. As realization started to come to him about how much he probably screwed up, he noticed the sign for the Konoha hot springs.

The spiraling thoughts about Naruto and how the boy would receive him would have been enough to keep his mind focused, but change had come to Konoha and the sign did not only point to the location of the hot springs but also advertised the mixed gender section as well as the Nyūyokusan. The mind of the super pervert was instantly refocused and the concerns about Naruto and Orochimaru shelved.

Jiraiya ignored the welcome he received at the gates and was too focused to notice the changed fashion sense of the village as his perverted mind could not split between thoughts of the hot springs and the "lovely oppai" it promised and the sights of sexily dressed civilians and kunoichi. Although his memory was able to catalogue the images for later review.

At the hot spring, the legendary shinobi, the man who was listed in every bingo book as "flee on site" received a welcome beyond any he could have ever hoped or dreamed about, when a young female Nyūyokusan recognized him, not for his shinobi prowess, but for his authorship of a series of books that had become like a bible among a certain group. The beautiful young woman spent much of her off time at the feet of a particular one-eyed shinobi as he read to her the words of the greatest pervert the elemental nations would ever know.

Tsukino Tomi was 17 the first time she met Kakashi and heard him read the words that would define her life. She was an unhappy third daughter of a middling merchant family. Her only salvation was that her father had very limited ambition and was not willing to sell any of his three unquestionably beautiful daughters off in marriage to gain status or business success.

Tomi's life had quickly changed and found purpose when she overheard Kakashi reading an "interesting" book to a group of young girls like herself. In one afternoon she had discovered, become a fan of and become an adherent to the Icha Icha books. And Jiraiya had become her hero. Committed to the life of pleasure and romance Jiraiya had outlined she soon lost her virginity to Kakashi as part of a threesome, moved on to orgies and eventually found herself as a popular Nyūyokusan at the hot springs.

Seeing the man that she worshipped and held responsible for the joy and purpose she had found staring in wonderment at the hot springs' mixed gender area, validated everything she had done in her young life. Tomi had "inducted" all her fellow Nyūyokusan into the love of Icha Icha and announced loudly when the author of the beloved books walked into the hot springs.

The Icha Icha series of books were the most popular and bestselling book series in the elemental nations and was owned by almost every person in Konoha, both pervert and (supposed) prude, so Tomi's announcement of Jiraiya's arrival caused an actual cheer to go up.

… **End Flashback**

That first day Jiraiya was approached by three naked women, all offering him a free bath. Petite with fairly large breasts and perpetually hard nipples and a slightly swollen, shaved "kitties", he actually felt his heart skip a beat. Before long he was himself naked and soaking in the hot water and was surrounded by eager and naked young women who all wanted to "inspire" a character in his next book as they washed his body with soft cloths and rubbed their wet breasts against his skin.

He had been back in Konoha for a week and had still not made it to the Hokage's office. His days and nights had been filled with joy and sex. He and a group of women were currently watching the water between his legs as he desperately tried to win at the latest game his favorite young pervert "priestess" had come up with. The pleasure was amazing and he was surprised at how long she could hold her breath and how skillful her mouth was.

He was no longer sure he would win though he would definitely enjoy the loss when the petite beauty released him and her head popped up. A cheer went up and he gathered the girl into a hug as she faked pouted at her inability to finish him before she ran out of oxygen. Her pout turned to giggles when he started to kiss her collar bone.

"Jiraiya-sama! Come and read Icha Icha to us."

Everyone's heads turned to the girls who had just entered and Tomi excitedly encouraged him to get the book and read to them. She was not jealous of the attention he got and had already committed herself to be one of his many women. Her playful title as Jiraiya's main priestess was more truth than fiction. She wanted Jiraiya to live the life of the hero in his books and she wanted to be one of his women. Before she let him up she whispered in his ear that she would finish what she started while he read.

That was when a furious Yuhi Kurenai barged into the hot springs. Without preamble, she was unleashing all her anger on the room full of people. She barely let herself breath as she screamed and berated everyone around her. She called the men "pigs" and "animals" and all the women "whores". She was in the midst of a wild tirade when Jiraiya grabbed her and kissed her.

The entire room erupted in a cheer.

Kurenai melted into the kiss and moaned when Jiraiya grabbed her ass. When his finger brushed against her back door tickling an erogenous zone that the prudish Kunoichi did not know she had, her angry confused mind shut down and all her repressed desires burst forth. There was a general "no sex" rule in the hot springs but it wasn't strictly enforced. So, in short order an orgy broke out. Kurenai's mind was about to reassert itself when Jiraiya entered her, but then her first orgasm hit and she was lost again.

It was all a misunderstanding.

Kurenai's anger had caused her to crash into the mixed area of the hot springs completely naked. Worse she had entered just as the room had been calling for Jiraiya to read from his books. That is important because the chapter that the Sannin loved to read was about the moment his tsundere character (obviously based on his first love, Tsunade) finally cracked.

The character, Suna, was screaming in rage and jealousy that the hero, Juno, had found a new girl who appreciated him and Juno had interrupted her rant with a kiss that he poured all his love for her into. Kurenai's rant was a pretty close paraphrasing of the one in the book.

Jiraiya, thinking this was a new fun to be had in the hot springs and that the woman was purposely acting out the part in the book, decided to play his part and kissed the sexy, naked and wet woman the way he had always wished he could kiss Tsunade. When the woman melted into his kiss, he pressed his advantage and before long he had a Tsunade stand-in writhing beneath him in pleasure and his new second love, Tomi, kissing her deeply.

The orgy eventually moved to the Inn where Jiraiya was staying and continued through the night until the only people left were Jiraiya, Tomi and Kurenai. The Hokage, finally getting word of his arrival, sent an ANBU for the Sannin in the morning and Tomi got up and headed to the shower which was how Kurenai found herself waking up alone in bed after "accidentally" having the most spectacular sexual experience of a lifetime.

… **Hokage's Office, Konohagakure**

As each word passed the lips of the Sandaime Hokage, Jiraiya felt as if he was being slapped with a hammer. It was the first time he had met directly with the rejuvenated Hiruzen Sarutobi and he had quickly been reminded of the powerhouse that had been his sensei. His failure to take seriously the threat of Orochimaru was not appreciated and for a moment he really believed the "old man" would banish him from the village.

His perverted nature tried to reassert itself to decry that he would lose access to his personal heaven when a spike in killing intent sent the half formed thought running back into his subconscious. More terrifying than the aura of death that suffused the room was the look of absolute disappointment mixed with loathing that was in the Hokage's eyes. Jiraiya felt small and wondered if instead of banishment the powerhouse in front of him would simply kill him.

Instead he was taken to a training ground and the "god of shinobi" beat him down. Jiraiya was the most humble of the legendary Sannin but he still had pride about his legendary status. So, he was surprised at how easily the old man was able to beat him. The fight had gone on for an hour and even when, after the first 20 minutes of being beaten like a child, the toad sage took the fight seriously, he was still beaten black and blue.

With his point made, the Hokage, briefed his former student on what had been learned in the week he "valued his wet cock over his duty". The captured Otogakure shinobi had broken under the care of the T&I department and they had discovered that an all-out assault was planned against Konoha. The sand village had betrayed them and would join in the fight and it was expected that the visiting stone village and the grass village shinobi would take the opportunity to cause as much death and mayhem as possible.

A chastised and, now, truly serious Jiraiya listened as the Hokage explained the plan to flip the situation in their favor and finally kill Orochimaru. Jiraiya was surprised that his sensei did not say "defeat" or "capture" and that was when he truly understood that the "hero of the second and third shinobi war" had returned.

With the plan outlined and his mind finally focused, Jiraiya's thoughts returned to his other reason for returning. His defeat at the hands of the Hokage made him realize that his training had slipped and he suggested that along with his own training he could take Naruto and teach him some of his father's jutsu.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had just seemed like a powerhouse of strength and vitality collapsed in on himself. "Jiraiya, you are a fool. And I am sorry that I let you go on that way for so long." The words made the white-haired man flinch. Something about them were ominous. "Naruto knows who you are and he does not want you in his life. It took him a year to forgive me for not telling him who his family was and for failing to protect him. He knows you abandoned him and he believes it was only to indulge in your perversions."

The Hokage went on to explain in excruciating detail the life Naruto lived. And how through Anko and Iruka he was finally put on the right path. He told the man about the S-rank mission, the discovery of the Kitsune contract, the establishment of the Namikaze clan and the revival of the Uzumaki clan. Jiraiya sat in stunned amazement as he was brought up to speed with Naruto's life and the fact that he was unwanted as part of it.

For a brief moment, he rebelled against what he was being told. He assigned blame to everyone he could think of, going so far as to begin to blame Minato and Kushina, but then it fell apart like dust in his mind and all that was left was him, his selfishness and his failure of the two people he claimed to care for most in the world. Achieving his perverted dreams had given him some clarity and he found himself wanting.

Realizing what he had to do, he formally requested that he be dismissed. Sarutobi was instantly worried. Jiraiya was never formal. His worry turned to fear when, after being dismissed, the man left through the door instead of the window.


	24. Seriously, A Lot

Naruto and his two girlfriends, along with all the Chunin hopefuls, their sensei, and various Konoha and visiting shinobi made their way along a trail that lead out of the forest of death. He and the other young shinobi walked along in a type of stunned silence as they all pondered how they all missed such a clear trail as they fought to get to the tower. Naruto was sure it was not a genjutsu that had kept it hidden from him as he was practically immune to them.

It took less than an hour to reach the village once again before they were all dismissed. The shinobi who would be fighting in the final event of the Chunin exams were instructed, to find a Jōnin instructor to help them prepare for the coming matches. Instead of joining the others who started to approach various older shinobi, the three shinobi of team 7 made their way back to the Uzumaki compound.

When they arrived, they were surprised to see a man kneeling outside the gates. The sadness and regret seemed to pour off the man as he sat silently. Only Naruto recognized him, but everyone who saw the sight recognized it for what it was. Someone was seeking forgiveness from the Uzumaki Clan. The man had drawn a small crowd but none in the crowd came within 100 feet of him because everyone recognized it for what it was.

It was an extreme atonement that most would not do because, by tradition, the person who presented themselves in such a way was accepting that the wronged party could ask for anything including the death of the petitioner. The fact that the man was prepared to pay even that price was clear by the tantō that was by his side and the fact that he wore white.

Naruto quickly told his companions that he would explain later and that, for now, they should ignore the man and enter the compound. Jiraiya did not flinch or move from the snub and instead sat still and waited. When the sun set, he packed up his things and left without a word and would return the following day at noon to begin his vigil again.

… **Uzumaki Compound, Konohagakure**

Despite looking as if he was unaffected, Naruto was rocked by the what Jiraiya had done. His companions were aware of what the man's actions suggested but it wasn't until Naruto explained who the man was and why he was there that the enormity of it became clear to them all.

Recognizing that Naruto was not ready to deal with his godfather, Sakura said "OK, Naruto, I think we should find Karin and make sure she is settled OK." Her words did the trick and Naruto was able to focus on his newly discovered family member. Karin arrived as her name was called and Naruto was pleased to see that the safety of the Uzumaki compound had already had an effect, the young girl looked joyous as she entered the room accompanied by a two-tailed Kitsune that seemed to match her in age.

Karin hugged first Naruto and then Hinata and Sakura before she seated herself and asked (demanded) to be told what happened in the preliminary fights. Thankful for the opportunity to continue to ignore his wayward godfather offering his life at his front gate, Naruto, with the help of his two girls, told his newly found cousin of what happened.

The story was thrilling to Karin but eventually Naruto brought the conversation around to what would be happening to her. She was amazed that she felt no worry. She barely knew Naruto but felt complete belonging while in his presence. The Uzumaki clan were the leaders of Uzu and Naruto was the head of that clan and whether it had been done properly or not, she now thought of herself as kunoichi of Uzu.

"Until we can find the rest of the Uzukaatsu Clan, you will be its acting head" Naruto began. Karin sat in stunned silence as he explained what was happening in Uzushiogakure and the effort to have it rebuilt, including the clan compounds for the cousin clans of Uzumaki. That the Kitsune clan would be joining Uzushiogakure and a few would act as wives to the Uzumaki clan had also been a huge surprise. It was clear that Uzushiogakure would be rising from the ashes much more powerful than it had ever been.

For the rest of the month, the Kitsune that had joined her and become her guards and companions, as Kazeryu had been, would guide her through some of the decisions she would have to make on behalf of her branch. They would be minor for the first few months as it was hoped that the rest of the clan could be found and that it would have a more experienced leadership to take over.

Most of her time would be spent learning Uzu secret clan techniques and getting her body and chakra up to the Uzu standard. Eventually, Naruto intended to apply his modified "curse of heaven" seal to her. It was a seal he had sold to Konoha but would belong to Uzushiogakure and he intended all of his clan to get it. The head of the clan, he planned, would receive the Kyuubi seal as well as the power absorption ritual.

With the day done and Karin happily off to bed, Hinata and Sakura were pounced on by their master and future husband. The enhanced hearing of the Kitsune that dotted the property would cause some mild jealousy as they had to hear the two mortal women scream in pleasure and ecstasy for half the night.

… **Jiraiya's Apartment, Konohagakure**

Tsukino Tomi believed with all her heart that Jiraiya of the Sannin was her future. What had started as a joke had, after almost two weeks, turned into a calling. She called it "Hentaishindo", a spiritual order that worshiped the Yokubō no kami (Lust God) and believed that Jiraiya of the Sannin was "his avatar in the mortal realm." She also started to see herself as a high priestess of this new "religion".

The foundations of her belief had been laid before Jiraiya's arrival in her life. Since the day she had first sat at the feet of Kakashi, who she now saw as a profit of the Yokubō no kami, she had devoted herself to achieving peace and joy through lust and carnal pleasures. She had recruited many of her fellow Nyūyokusan to her beliefs and the attitude accounted for the popularity of the Konoha hot springs as much as the relaxed rules of propriety. More than just free love, her and her friends opened themselves to every perversion, as long as it felt good.

The arrival of Jiraiya and the week they spent not only in carnal delights but reading his stories and absorbing his theories about love, sex and "oppai" had created a religious awakening for her and her fellow adherents. She had watched men and women come into the hot springs sad or tired or just burdened by their lives and leave with their spirits lifted and purpose renewed. And in many cases all it took was to allow them to rest their head against her bare breast while one of her fellow Nyūyokusan bathed them.

But it wasn't until her "lord" had returned to her, dejected at his failure to love and protect his godson that she found true religious clarity. Jiraiya would spend the first half of the day preparing for the coming invasion by brutally training himself. The second half of the day would be spent on his knees in front of the Uzumaki compound.

When he returned each evening, she would silently undress him before joining him in his bath where she would clean him, dress his self-inflicted wounds and help him find balance between his perverted calling and his duty. Tomi saw this as the great trial of the avatar of the Yokubō no kami. The world had forsaken lust and perversion because it did not believe it could exist with duty and honor, but with her help and the forgiveness she truly believed he would get from Uzumaki-sama, a new age was coming and she was blessed to be at the onset.

It took her a week to pull Jiraiya back from the edge of self-loathing and self-recrimination. The second week was spent facing the truth of his failure and understanding that he could live a life of both duty and service to his village and godson as well as one committed to his true perverted nature.

The third week brought a return to perversion and decadence as the Sannin's apartment became host to a round the clock orgy. That was when Hentaishindo was truly founded. Tomi got to witness the true "awakening" of the avatar of the Yokubō no kami and the orgasm she received "sacrificing" her body to his "alter", "marked" her as his first high priestess.

That week saw the fastest rise of a religion ever as by the end of it Anko, Kakashi, Iruka, Asuma, Haku along with all the Nyūyokusan and many other shinobi and civilians, became members of Hentaishindo. Kakashi had not known he was a profit but the title made complete sense to all who knew of his daily readings and retroactively explained so much of who Kakashi was known to be. Many of the new members started their journey at his feet during one of his retellings.

Asuma and Haku, the master and the tool found a place within the new religion and founded a sect that was committed to master/slave pairs. The level of devotion Haku had for her owner and master was unique but that would not be the case for long as Asuma's growing power and reputation and Haku's constant presence at his side would draw similar pairs to their sect.

Anko's initiation would forever be the greatest sexual event of her life as she was simultaneously filled in all her holes, for the first time, by three men she loved and respected a great deal, her boyfriend Iruka, Kakashi and Asuma. She later found herself beneath the second Sannin to fuck her and in her orgasmic bliss longed to be able to claim that she was bedded by all three of the legendary shinobi.

Over the next year, a shrine would be built and would be visited as much as the hot springs were, mostly due to the fact that all the shrine maidens would wear diaphanous yukata with no undergarments. The high priestess Tomi when not traveling with the "avatar" would appear in the shrine naked except for various pieces of jade and gold jewelry that hid none of her lithe body. And at the center of the shrine would be live sex demonstrations that would teach all the possible sexual combinations two people could engage in.

 **...Jiraiya's Apartment, Konohagakure (After Jiraiya left with the ANBU to meet the Hokage)**

Yuri Kurenai's eye snapped open when the shower turned on. Despite the panic that was running through her body and the confusion she was experiencing due to not being in her own bed, she remained outwardly calm and still. That was due to the fact that she was a highly trained kunoichi and regardless of their view toward sex, every kunoichi had to learn how to react to waking up in a bed without their clothes and feeling the evidence of sexual activity on their body. An emotional reaction could cost them their lives or, if they had been violated, subject them to more of the same.

Taking a moment to gather her bearings, brought all the memories of the previous night back to the naked Jōnin and it took every ounce of her training to not explode. As far as she was concerned she had been raped and many people were going to pay for the violation of her body. But that would have to come later. She did not know who was in the shower, considering how many people had participated in the lewdness. And while she was sure it was one person in the shower, she did not know if it was the Sannin who had lead the assault and degradation of her body.

No matter how angry the genjutsu mistress was, she knew she was not in a position, nor did she have the skill, to take on one of the legendary Sannin, even if most believed Jiraiya to be the weakest of the three. With that in mind she got out of the bed, found her clothes and exited the apartment. She found a hidden corner to get dressed and then returned to her own apartment to plan her retaliation.

Once she was safely in her apartment, she moved to call the ANBU. Normally, rapes would be handled by the village police force but as she was a Jōnin and her rapist was a Sannin, the ANBU would have to be involved. She wanted to take a shower and wash all the bodily fluids she could feel on herself, especially the mix of foul odors and tastes that was around and in her mouth, but it was evidence.

She took a breath and prepared for the indignity she was about to suffer, hoping that a female ANBU, like Yūgao, would be assigned to collect the evidence from her body and orifices. She had the phone to her ear and was dialing, when she froze as realization hit her like a powerful jutsu. She hadn't been raped.

She stood in her apartment for 20 minutes, with the phone still at her ear trying to prove to herself that she had, in fact, been raped. She searched for a moment, no matter how small, where she had said "no", indicated that she did not want to continue or made any effort to stop what was happening. She found none and instead recalled multiple occasions where the opposite was true and she was given a chance to leave, and didn't.

She then checked herself thoroughly for the remnants of any genjutsu or similar that could have been used against her to trick her into acting as she had. Not only could she find none but she realized that for the genjutsu mistress of the village to even hint that her mind had been overtaken would ruin her.

As usual, when faced with sexual facts that did not meet her prudish beliefs, the normally very logical woman became irrational and angry. She slammed the phone down and raced to her shower, where she scrubbed her body so aggressively that she left her own skin raw. And by the time she left the shower she had disregarded all the women that had participated in the previous nights' orgy and was left with a burning hatred anger toward a group of "faceless" men and Jiraiya of the Sannin who she swore vengeance against.

… **Uzumaki Compound, Konohagakure**

The time before the finals of Chunin Exams was very hectic but deeply satisfying for Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. He and his girls continued their training through shadow clones but unlike the other finalist, training was the least important of the things happening around him.

First, with the story of Karin's life, Naruto was able to send a few of the Kitsune out into and around grass country with news about the revival of the Uzumaki clan, and the search for all lost members of Uzushiogakure that would be welcomed at the new clan compound within Konoha. The fact that the revival of Uzu was connected to the discovery of the legendary Kitsune Clan summoning contract guaranteed that the news traveled far and fast.

It took a little over a week for the nomadic Uzukaatsu to be found and accept a place back with their cousin and clan leader. The branch family had not taken well to a nomadic lifestyle and had more than once considered approaching Konoha for protection. But the truth of what happened at the fall of Uzu was not fully known and many in the family were wary about what Konoha might do to them. Approached by fifteen Kitsune warriors who told them that the last Uzumaki and heir had been found and that he had established an Uzumaki compound within Konoha, had clarified that debate.

Guarded by the fifteen Kitsune warriors the family started their journey home. Unlike the secretive nature of their movements up to that point, the Uzukaatsu traveled openly toward Konoha. Word of the found branch family of Uzu, traveling under guard back to Konoha made the rounds twice as fast as the news of the search. That message went out with the announcement that any who claimed to be of Uzu blood should make their way to Konoha.

Secret correspondence started to pour into the Uzumaki compound. The Kitsune handled it all and by the time of the start of the Chunin finals would happily announce that they had found at least 10 members of all three families that made up the Uzumaki Clan branches. The effort had also established a new secret currier network as the kitsune flexed their stealth, infiltration and evasion capabilities. Many shinobi would find themselves in the Konoha bingo book for discovered crimes against Clan Uzumaki.

With every red-head in the elemental nations moving toward Konoha, Naruto was overjoyed to learn that Uzushiogakure's rebuilding had been complete. Naruto and his two future Namikaze wives took a tour of the rebuilt Uzu home lands and they were all amazed at what had been accomplished. Hinata was sure that the minute word spread about the village they would have immediate enemies. An Uzushiogakure that was a third as strong had warranted the pooled effort of three villages to destroy after all.

The new Uzu was already populated by a quarter of the Kitsune clan. They represented the Kitsune who had decided to no longer be a summon and live their lives on the mortal plane as part of the Uzumaki clan. These women were separate from the 10 that would be Naruto's wives and instead would be "daughters" of the clan and no doubt birth a child or two for Naruto (and a few of his offspring)

With his home rebuilt, Naruto decided that they would wait until after the Uzukaatsu clan arrived before announcing that the whirlpool village was once again alive. Fear of Uzu was already re-awakening with his public declaration that he was alive and he did not want to put the nomadic family at further risk while they traveled.

The third week was much more personal to Naruto. The ten Kitsune who would be his Uzumaki wives declared themselves and he was actually surprised to see Inume among them. Neither Hinata, nor Sakura shared his surprise. Naruto was no longer the fool he once was, or pretended to be, and so it didn't take long for him to understand that the Kitsune respected power, intelligence, guile and cleverness. Traits he had been putting on full display since signing their contract.

His official marriage to them would happen after Uzushiogakure was officially opened but none of the women would wait to take him to bed. Naruto, Hinata and Sakura thought the fox girls would each demand a night for themselves but that was not the case and instead his "wedding night" was an orgy where he and the 12 women in his life pleasured each other. What was important was that he took each fox girl in order of their status starting with Inume and ending with Haname and Shime who had both worked hard to earn their fourth tails in time.

The final issue Naruto handled before the conclusion of the Chunin exams were to begin was his godfather. Every day from noon to sunset the man knelt outside the gates of the compound waiting on Naruto to decide if his life would be forfeit. From the very beginning that was not an option for Naruto. Not only was the perverted sage too valuable to the village and, despite his hurt, he knew that the man's selfishness did not mean that he did not love his parents. He did not think they would want him dead.

However, he had learned and believed that forgiveness had to be earned and after letting the man sweat for three weeks to test his commitment he finally called the man in to make his demand. Jiraiya was escorted into the Uzumaki compound and then into the former apartment complex. The first floor had been re-done again and now was setup as the diplomatic offices for the clan. A beautiful fox girl with 5 tails lead the man into a small conference room. The entire time there, he flirted unabashedly with the fox woman.

In the room he found his godson sitting at a table. Behind the young man were his 12 wives. Or at least that is what Jiraiya assumed. He recognized his team mate/lovers and future Namikaze wives in Hinata and Sakura and assumed the remaining ten Kitsune women were those that had been chosen to fulfill the original bargain.

Noticing that the Kitsune that escorted him in was not part of Naruto's harem (giggle), he turned to her before she left and said "If you join me in my apartments tonight I would be delighted to research you for my next book." He had originally thought Tomi was just an especially crazed fan and accepted her because she was so beautiful and agreeable to all his perversions. But when he was at his lowest she had seduced him to her way of thinking.

Accepting himself as an avatar of a love god might have seemed insane but since then he had found himself more able to understand women and their true desires. It was weird but something told him that the Kitsune that had just left wanted to join his new religion and join with him specifically. His insights had begun after he had "initiated" Tomi, officially, as his high priestess by fucking her while in sage mode. Something had shifted, and he believed it was the unlocking of the Yokubō no kami within him.

He sat and looked at his godson but it was the pinkette that spoke first. She seemed irritated but not particularly angry. "Isn't your endless chase of women, the reason you are in this position now?" He looked at her and a sad smiled graced his lips. Then he turned to Naruto since it was him that Jiraiya felt deserved an answer.

"Not really. It would be easy to blame my actions on my base desires and an inability to control them but the truth is I am a Kage level shinobi and that does not happen without discipline and self-control. I am here because I was selfish, angry and lost when I was unable to protect the two most precious people in my life. I started making excuses and anytime my rational brain started to tear them down I would bury myself in women and drink till my brain was too addled to fight."

He saw that everyone was listening to him and decided that he might as well get to it. "I am a pervert, make no mistake. I am the avatar of the Yokubō no kami and if not for the claim that Naruto has made on all of you, I would be eager to see you all naked or much much more. But recently, my high priestess, helped me to properly merge my perverted nature with my shinobi nature. I had already accepted my failure at that point but with her help, it is no longer a place I can hide from myself." With his words done he straightened, and looked in his godson's eyes. The decision was his.

Naruto looked at his godfather. He had already decided what he would require and nothing said had changed it but he was more comfortable knowing his godfather had found his way from his own darkness. "Very well Jiraiya of the Sannin," Naruto began "To repay your debt of honor to me, the Namikaze Clan and the Uzumaki Clan, we demand that you relinquish your position on the toad contract and never re-sign it again."

Jiraiya was shocked. He truly did not expect such a demand but without hesitation he agreed. He was prepared to give his life for his failure and was instead asked to give up one of the things that made him feared and respected in the shinobi world. It was a just request. "May I have the chance to speak to the toads a last time?" he asked. Naruto nodded his acceptance. "Once it is done, the Hokage will choose a new signer and you will be openly accepted in the Namikaze and Uzumaki Clans as my godfather." Naruto concluded.

With nothing else to say, Jiraiya rose from his seat, bowed and left.

… **Uchiha Compound, Konohagakure**

Uchiha Sasuke looked at himself in the mirror. All he wore was a pair of tight white underwear. Long gone was the boy that practically every young girl desperately wanted. He was still in phenomenal physical condition and his body had not lost any of the dense corded muscle that he had earned with years of training.

However, the well maintained hair that he use to have was now stringy and hung unevenly on either side of his face. Dark circles under his eyes made him look old and weak. Gone, also, was his confident stance as anger and grief had taken a toll and caused him to slouch. He was not even 16 and he looked and carried himself like a man whose prime had long since passed.

It was all because of the seal that sat over his stomach. A seal that locked away his chakra.

He stared at it, still in shock that it had been done to him. When he had first awoken in his house to find the Hokage, Kakashi and a group of people he did not know he had been confused. The explanation had finally broke through the layers of arrogance and self-righteousness that he had built around himself when the Hokage had told him in a voice too serious to misinterpret or call a bluff. "We only need you alive to revive the Uchiha Clan. In fact, it might be wiser if we leave you powerless and just stud you out."

The great leverage he had was that he was the last "loyal" Uchiha and both the civilian and shinobi council wanted him to father new members of the powerful clan. He wanted that as well but it was the least of his priorities. But it allowed him to get whatever he wanted. Now that leverage had been turned against him to justify using a seal on him that was only used on prisoners.

His revenge had been stolen from him and he had lashed out only to be beaten. But his beating had not been combat, instead he had been spanked as if he was a child. It was humiliating. "This village has spoiled you and not raised you with the proper will of fire. Your actions have given us an opportunity to correct that error. You have a month to come to terms with that." The Hokage had said as he desperately tried to hold back the tears from the unexpected pain and humiliation he was feeling due to the lack of chakra to reinforce his body.

It was the last day he would be allowed to "wallow". He was expected to bath and comb his hair and dress himself, the next day. The woman who had introduced herself as a "mind healer" had explained to him that she viewed him as a trauma victim and that it was long past time to try to help him heal and grow from that. He had yelled at her for her impertinence and she had ignored him due to his impotence to do anything about it.

… **Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

Naruto sat in the competitor section of the large open top arena. It had been built on the grounds of the Academy and Naruto once again marveled at the versatility of the Academy grounds. Hinata and Sakura sat to either side of him, dressed once more in their standard shinobi outfits, currently colored blue and gold to match the Namikaze family colors.

The final days leading up to the conclusion of the Chunin exams were as hectic as the previous 4 weeks. The Uzukaatsu family had arrived the previous day which lead to a tearful reunion between Karin and her long loss family as well as more tears over the fate of one of the daughters of the family. She wept in the embrace of her grandmother. Karin was happy to be accepted and even happier to relinquish headship duties to the true head of the Uzukaatsu branch.

The family consisted of 30 people and even though they could be housed in the apartments they had chosen to set up camp on the grounds. Naruto promised them a full briefing and update once the Chunin exams were over and they agreed, happy to be somewhere safe. He told the branch head that things were in the works and no matter what he heard or saw, he nor his family were to leave the grounds.

Jiraiya had met with the toads privately but had struck his name from the contract publically. The news had not travelled everywhere yet but it was the hottest thing being discussed and Naruto had no doubt it would reach the farthest corners of the elemental nations within a week. Fortunately, for both the former toad sage and the village, he did not lose the skill or power he had gained from being a senjutsu master.

Jiraiya was now known as the Ero Sannin or Perverted Sage and had reported an increase to his control and power over his sage mode due to using it during his sexual escapades. The motionless sex that he would have in public that left his partners euphoric and "punch drunk" for hours was causing his new religion to grow quickly.

Other than that, the plan to counter the discovered invasion had been completed and implemented. The Hokage and the task force waited till the last minute to rally the forces and still kept certain suspect individuals, like Danzō, out of the loop. Part of the final plan involved using the opportunity to cripple his ROOT organization and he had been kept distracted trying to hold his power and organization together. After the attempted invasion the final destruction of ROOT would occur.

Naruto's involvement to that point was important but was in support functions. His modified "curse of heaven" seal was applied to four dozen more shinobi, including Kakashi, Hana, Tsume and various members of all the ninja clans. The seal was also applied to the Inuzuka women's ninkens creating the world's first Kage level shinobi dogs. The counter trap would begin once Orochimaru was in the building. At that point the spy ring would be taken down as well as the safe houses that held the sound and sand shinobi that had snuck into the village as part of the chunin exam spectators.

After that the remaining shinobi forces of Konoha, many of whom had been secretly called home from various missions, would also be called up and given a quick briefing, before deployment to repel the main invasion force. Most of them already had an inkling as to what was on the horizon since they had been ordered to sneak back in to their own villages and only report to designated safe houses.

Naruto's involvement would also become more active once the final trap was sprung as he would be responsible for breaking the planned genjutsu that was to happen during the match between Sakura and Gaara.


	25. The Finals, Finally

… **Known Safe House, Otogakure Spy Ring HQ, Konohagakure**

Yakushi Kabuto was in a panic. The plan was still on track and all signs pointed to it going off without a problem except he had spent the last month failing at every task that had been assigned to him. It was not arrogance that caused him to believe that something was terribly wrong, even though that was what Orochimaru accused him of when he brought it to the Snake Sannin's attention.

In his years as a spy for Orochimaru he had never failed so consistently at his tasks and that was no accident. He was meticulous and careful and very skilled as a Shinobi. But in the last month, he had not been able to complete any of the tasks assigned to him. It started with an inability to find the bodies of the sound nin that had been killed by Sasuke in the Forrest of death. The report about him killing them was practically general knowledge but he found no evidence the bodies had been destroyed and no evidence of what happened to them.

Orochimaru had need those bodies and so was very displeased with him when he reported his failure to find them. Worse still was his next failure, an inability to gain access to Uchiha Sasuke. It had taken him two weeks to find the boy and no matter his explanations, again Orochimaru only laughed at him when it was discovered he was in the Uchiha compound, just not in the main house.

His master did not know yet of his latest failure. He could not get to the boy. The loss of the entire clan in one night had apparently not been ignored and clan compound security had been changed. Kabuto did not understand how he had not been aware of that but it wasn't until he sent a few of his people to retrieve the boy and they were incinerated by some type of fūinjutsu seal that he realized that he had a problem.

Worried that their plot had been discovered he sacrificed a few more of his men trying to infiltrate the other clan compounds. He was gratified, a little, to see that the security measure was at most of the clan homes. He decided that it had been implemented but only activated due to the visitors in the village. After all, unchecked visitors had led to the Hyuga incident. He did make note to terminate the cell that was responsible for, and had failed, finding this information out.

The reason did not matter. What mattered was that not only was Sasuke unattainable but the planned attack on the village was at risk if the clan compounds could not be breached. Fortunately, most of the shinobi forces would be patrolling the village and not safe within their clan walls. He only hoped he could entice the boy to leave the protection once the attack started. He was unaware that Sasuke was as incapable of leaving the Uchiha district as he was at entering it.

He received a report that Orochimaru had arrived in his guise as the Kazekage and smiled to himself. He was angry at his own failures but remained anxious to see the shock and surprise on the faces of the Konoha shinobi and civilians as their world fell around them. He would never have that opportunity, as the poison that had been on the report stole his consciousness from him. '

In the end he would not be aware as his own plans and contingencies collapsed around him with the entrance of unusually powerful ANBU who took down his safe house and killed half the force present there. Nor would he ever be aware that every safe house he had in the village had suffered similar fates. The first strike of the invasion of Konoha had occurred and it was preemptive.

… **Hokage Box, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

The "Kazekage" and his guards were the last to arrive in the Hokage's box. He smiled internally to see that the only other kage to make the trip was the Tsuchikage, who he was sure would aid him in his plan to destroy the leaf village. The minor villages had powerful leaders but they were all in a separate box and would not be able to aid Hiruzen once his plan was executed. The snake wearing the skin of a village leader smiled during the formal greetings before taking his seat.

The Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen had not been sure he would be able to keep himself from attacking his wayward student. But then his newest love, a probable future wife, Yuyu, had brought him a gift to calm his nerves before it was time to leave for the arena.

The gift was her sister, Ami, and her niece, Kao. Ami was a widow whose civilian shinobi husband had died on a mission and Kao was her daughter who was in her final year at the shinobi academy. Both had become members of Jiraiya's Hentaishindo religion and had appealed to their family member for a chance to "recruit" the Hokage.

After three hours of claiming both a pair of sisters and a mother, daughter pair in a giant foursome that concluded by claiming the anal virginity of the youngest family member, Hiruzen had decided to join this new religion and was calm enough to face his former student for, hopefully, the final time.

In one of the viewing boxes, Temari was scared. The last month had not been pleasant for her. Her brother had not made good on his threat to kill her for losing but that did not mean that she was not beaten brutally for her failure. The beating did not bother her as much as the fact that the small influence she had over her brother had completely disappeared and it had happened at the worst possible time.

The blonde kunoichi was by far the smartest of her siblings and in the month she had been in the village, she had become convinced that at least part of the reports they had received about Konoha, was not true. Reports could be faked but her own eyes would not lie to her. She had watched the ANBU patrols and payed attention to the rank and file shinobi. She had even kept her ear to ground in the civilian areas. What she discovered was that the Konohagakure no Sato was not the complacent unprepared village they had been told existed.

And to her, if that vital detail was incorrect, she no longer trusted any of the rest of the reports. She had told their Jōnin sensei her discovery and even though he was a bit condescending in his dealing with her, he finally went out to check on her suspicion the previous night. He had not returned and her instincts told her he was captured, dead or worse. The whole way to the arena hosting the Chunin finals, her eyes constantly roamed for evidence that their duplicity had been found out.

She had desperately wanted to gather her brothers and leave the village that morning but received a slap to the face for her trouble. Her brother was at the edge of madness and wanted the "blood of the Uzumaki" to "prove his existence". She knew that the day was a failure but would not abandon her brothers. She wondered if this was the day she had always expected where she would sacrifice her life in one final attempt to protect them.

Her eyes drifted to the competitor's box where her two brothers sat. She was ready. At any cost to her, they would make it back to Suna. She had already failed them both so much. She prepared herself to do what had to be done.

… **Arena Floor, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

Gekkō Hayate stepped to the center of the floor and looked at the gathered crowd. It was the largest Chunin finals crowd in recent memory and he knew that was due to how many extraordinary things were happening at the same time. A Namikaze heir had been revealed, as had an Uzumaki one. They were the same boy and he had been showing himself to be powerful, both as a shinobi and a politician. Already the Uzukaatsu, who were also thought lost, had shown up. In addition, the Kitsune Clan had been found and allowed him to sign their contract.

Most of the drama revolved around Naruto but the crowd also represented an attempt to invade Konoha and Hayate was proud to say that he had personally drawn the first blood the night before when he killed Baki, the Jōnin sensei for the Suna team of the Kazekage's children. The man had been under surveillance and it was obvious when he had realized that Konoha was much better protected than it should have been.

The battle had been difficult and if Hayate had still been weakened by the poison that caused his cough, he might have lost. Even the increase to his chakra capacity had not purged the poison. Instead it had been joining the Hentaishindo and making love to Yūgao while surrounded by the senjutsu power of Jiraiya that had finally freed him of his disability. They had been one of six couples to fuck while Jiraiya stayed motionless and plugged into Tomi.

They had not done it to seek a cure for him but instead just wanted to see if they could feel some of the euphoria Tomi and others had reported. They had and he and his girlfriend had both experienced the most powerful orgasm of their lives. It was only later that he discovered his cough and the associated aches, pains and weaknesses were gone.

His defeat of Baki had been covered up and while they were sure, some concern about the missing shinobi was growing, it was clear it was too late to stop the planned attack. With the "Kazekage" in the village, Hayate was positive that he had done the right thing. He calmed himself from the eager excitement about the coming "war".

He took a breath and called the final matches of the Chunin exams to begin. The start was long winded and boring. Introductions were given to the Daimyo's present or their representatives, then the Kazekage and the Hokage, as well as to all the minor villages' leaders. Dignitaries came next and lastly each of the competitors. A history lesson about the purpose of the Chunin exams and finally it was time for the first match.

"Hyuga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino, come forward." He announced.

The two young women stepped forward. Everyone present knew what Ino had done to Sasuke and many of the Hyuga elders leaned forward, wanting to see something similar happen to the girl they still had no power over. In the month since she had protected her sister from the cage bird seal and giving the same protection to Neji after removing his, the Hyugas had been engaged in a silent war.

Assassinations had happened and the entire family was barely keeping a lid on the turmoil occurring within the walls of their compound. The only thing preventing all out conflict was that Hinata had not removed the cage bird seal from the rest of the family. Their simmering fear would turn to all out terror if they knew she was only waiting for the "invasion" to be over before doing exactly that.

Yamanaka Ino had spent the month in intensive training. Her entire family had participated in her training. And while mind skill was the Yamanaka kekkei genkai, that was not what they spent their time on. Instead she, in many ways, completed her transition into a cat. She increased her dexterity and flexibility to the point where she could actually lick her own center, a trick she was eager to show off after the conclusion of the exams.

She had similar increases in her skill and ability at gymnastics, balance and speed. She was also able to learn a taijutsu style that complemented her cat theme and finally, Ino had become a master of the whip and along with her now precision chakra control, her chakra metal tail was a precision fighting instrument. She stood across from Hinata with her metal tail switching back and forth and matching metal claws on her fingers and the toes of her boots.

"hajime" Hayate said before leaping out of the way.

 **Hyuga Hinata vs Yamanka Ino**

Neither girls had any intention to truly hurt each other but they both wanted to prove themselves and earn their promotion to Chunin.

Ino struck first, leaping at Hinata and surprising the crowd. Attacking a Hyuga with close up taijutsu was not considered smart. Attacking the Hyuga who had shown herself to be the most adept at the gentle fist style that she had invented a kick based variation that was even more deadly, seemed even more foolish.

Except that Ino was holding her own. Her speed and flexibility along with the fact that Hinata was using high Chunin level speed and power, purposely handicapping herself, made for an impressive display for the crowd. Hinata had more offensive attack options than Ino, but the girl's obscene flexibility and speed was allowing her to dodge Hinata's gentle fist strikes.

Also, operating with less options was not the same as having no options and the blonde girl's chakra controlled mental tail whip was also forcing Hinata into a few defensive stances as well. Ino's tail was like a fifth appendage for the Yamanka and the fact that both it and her claws glowed blue with chakra was a definite indication that one did not want to be hit by it.

Hinata's equally impressive dexterity and flexibility made the two women look as if they were in a deadly dance. A very sexy deadly dance as the two women contorted their bodies in almost erotic ways to avoid each other's strikes. Those with the skill to be able to track the speed that the two women were moving were not all together sure that they were not watching an erotic mating dance as on more than one occasion, deflected strikes would be so close as to cause forearms or calves to run along the breasts and crotches of the opponent.

Hinata's strategy was to try and land a strike against one of Ino' tenketsu points but Ino avoided every strike. At first, the arrogant Hyuga family members in the audience thought that Hinata was showing herself to be a poor practitioner but even their arrogance could not make them believe that. Instead they became fearful that the young Yamanaka had developed a fighting style that was affective against the gentle fist style, one that was giving Hinata trouble and so would be more than effective against the rest of the clan.

On the other side of the fight, almost all of Ino' efforts were toward avoiding the strikes. Despite how impressed the spectators were, she knew she could not keep up her pace for much longer. An up close battle with a Hyuga, especially one of Hinata's caliber, would always end in failure. Ino's gambit was so that she could get her tail wrapped around the other girl. Unfortunately, trying to catch Hinata in a hold was like trying to grasp the wind.

The display of skill was very impressive but in truth many of the spectators were simply turned on by the many splits and bends the two women did as they fought each other. Eventually the two split apart. Ino using a high back flip that she landed in a crouch meant to mimic a cat. For her part Hinata spun away ending with her leg up and arms spread (wushu crane stance).

Before Hinata had finished settling into her stance, Ino charged her again. Ino knew that, unlike the rest of the Hyuga clan, Hinata was equally skilled in ninjutsu as she was in taijutsu and Ino believed that keeping Hinata in a purely taijutsu battle was much better for her than if Hinata used a mixed style. Attacking up close was playing to Hinata's strength but also, hopefully, discouraging her from using ninjutusu. Whereas she was using both taijutsu and bukijutsu. It was a small "possible" advantage but was worth the risk to Ino.

Ino strategy was working. The intensive taijutsu attack style she used was causing Hinata to forgo her use of ninjutsu and stick to her preferred fighting style. Hinata was enjoying herself immensely. Unfortunately for Ino, she overlooked one factor. It was true that Hinata preferred her taijutsu and it was true that the blonde would not have wanted to face a Hinata using both taijutsu and ninjutsu in a mixed style. What she overlooked was that Hinata was like no Hyuga anyone had ever had to deal with.

The gentle fist and its variations was not the only taijutsu style Hinata had mastered.

Ino charged with her tail lashing out hoping to catch her friend off guard, but instead Hinata's body contorted and danced through the whip and Ino's raking claws, before sliding in a full split through Ino's legs before spinning up and grabbing Ino's shoulders from behind and hip tossing her toward one of the Arena walls.

Ino found herself upside down and moving at great speed toward a painful collision. She was able to keep her head and stick out her clawed hands to dig into the ground and arrest her momentum. She landed once again in a catlike crouch with her clawed fingers in the ground at the end of 10, five foot long gauges in the ground.

Her immersive training regime had started to have her manifest more and more cat-like behaviors and that was evident when she hissed at Hinata. The purple-eyed girl just smiled back at her. Ino attacked again and Hinata met her with a grappling taijutsu style that reminded the spectators a little of the Akimichi and Uchiha styles with the use of power moves and throws.

Ino's flexibility held for another minute as she slipped out of Hinata's grasps until final Hinata caught her and was able to trap her in a submission hold and tap a tenketsu point that caused the tail to fall to the ground. Another pressure point and Ino was unconscious.

… **Hyuga Hinata Wins**

The crowd went wild and the Hyuga elders and main branch members looked at each other. It seemed that all they did lately was look at each other in trepidation.

… **Competitor's box, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

Toward the back of the competitor's box, the Jōnin sensei of the remaining competitors all stood together. Standing with a face that would be favorably compared to a stone mask, Kurenai made no move as the other Jōnin instructors complimented her on the skill of her "best" student. Asuma's students had shown a level of skill and power that reflected the fact that they graduated at the top of their Academy class, but it was Ino that was the star of the Chunin exams.

Over the last two rounds her fights had been the most interesting and had given a very positive insight to the type of kunoichi the blonde was and could be. At the end of the preliminaries, most people thought it guaranteed that she would be recruited into the T&I department with her brutal psychological take down of Uchiha Sasuke, who still had not been seen since. But she had surprised again and, despite losing her match, had shown extraordinary martial skill. She had taken on a Hyuga prodigy in the gentle fist and had "forced" her opponent to switch styles to defeat her.

Kurenai was livid on the inside. She had no love for either of the young women fighting and had expected that the match between the two would turn into some sort of "sexy" mud wrestling. She was fully prepared for the two "whores" to end the match in their underwear, at least, if not fully naked. A large part of her desired that outcome so she could justify her disgust at what the two had become.

Similarly, it was beyond obvious, with the skills they had shown, that no one could "force" them to do something they did not want to do and it galled her that it might be true that Hinata might actually want to be a "slave" to the Uzumaki-Namikaze. She shivered in disgust remembering the feel of Jiraiya inside of her. She had subconsciously used a genjutsu on herself to change the feelings of pleasure she had experience to feelings of revulsion.

She desperately needed her team to make Chunin. Achieving that rank would not relinquish her of responsibility for them as that was something she would have until they all made Jōnin, but as Chunin, her role would be as a training advisor, instead of team leader and she longed to be able to lessen her interaction with her team, especially Ino.

Her rape had actually brought her a great deal a clarity. She had been spending all her time an energy angry at the depravity that was unfolding around her. That and feeling hurt and betrayed as the women she had called friends and whom she though understood the responsibilities of being kunoichis had allowed themselves to be degraded. What she should have been doing is planning how to save them all from the evil of the men around them and the traitors (Anko!) within their ranks.

She had met with Koharu, the only ally she had left, and the older woman had agreed with Kurenai that they had spent too much time being shocked and appalled. They shared their perspectives on the previous year and both had realized that more had happened than they were aware. But they were committed to saving the world, so it was not time to be overwhelmed.

It was Koharu who suggested that Kuranei already had an opportunity to infiltrate and destroy one of the primary problems. Kurenai had already slept with Jiraiya and the man and his church was a major enemy to their cause. Neither woman doubted that the "pathetic whoremonger" would gladly accept Kurenai into his "harem". The question was whether she was willing to do what was necessary.

For Kurenai, she wished that Hinata and Ino had ended their match naked and engaged in some type of deplorable behavior because that would have made her decision to sacrifice her body to her rapist, that much easier. A sacrifice to save the future. But with the skill shown by the kunoichi and the praiseful words of the men around her it was hard for to justify submitting herself to the torture of "that man's" hands when all around her Kunoichi were earning a respect they had never had before.

… **Arena Floor, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

Gekkō Hayate stepped forward to call Sabaku no Gaara and Haruna Sakura forward. "This is it" he thought. They had done nothing to influence the selections but he was privately happy this match was so early in the finals. He was anxious for the whole affair to be over. He watched as the future Namikaze wife and the container of the one-tail arrived to the floor.

Obviously, Sakura had been briefed on what was happening as she was literally on the frontline of the attack. He had been assured that she could handle her duty and he was pleased that it would be a civilian born shinobi, like himself, that would be so instrumental in the coming fight. The "re-ignition" of the Sandaime's "will of fire" had done a lot to tamper the building animosity between the civilian shinobi and the clan shinobi and Sakura becoming a hero of this engagement would only further that.

"Hajime"

… **Hokage Box, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

Orochimaru, hidden within the body of the Kazekage, forced himself to remain calm. All was ready. Kabuto's failures had not impeded his plans too much, but that was why he was who he was and so feared. He had contingencies for his contingencies and despite the impeccable record of success of his primary operative, he was always ready for when the man began to lose his touch. He would find out if the failures were due to arrogance or bad planning on the part of the man after this victory.

He saw his man in the stands that would cast the genjutsu as well as his second man that was helping to mask the power of the first. He had found a missing nin that was as skilled in the art as Kurenai and the man had quickly accepted the increase in power that would be granted by his cursed seal. Power alone was enough to convince the man. If not for his desire to gain the Uchiha dojutsu, he might have claimed that man's body. Instead he would be dead by the following morning.

The modification to Gaara's seal had already been made and at his signal, Shukaku would be free. He thought about just releasing the beast now but he was always happy to see the young sand shinobi's brutality. His jealousy over the son of his nemesis throwing off the shackles and growing in power also wanted him to see the boys reported lover get crushed.

… **Arena Floor, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

 **Suna no Gaara vs Haruna Sakura**

"Mother wants your blood" Gaara said in a voice that was creepy to most of the spectators, but sounded weak and whiny to the ears of the masochist. Instead of responding she flicked her hand and her kanabō appeared at her side and she leaned against it confidently. Gaara did not notice, it was Uzumaki Naruto that he wanted to fight. Wasting no time, Gaara made his hand seals and said "Sabaku Kyū" (Sand Coffin). Sand rose up around Sakura until she was buried to her neck. Gaara's smile turned wicked as he shifted into a second set of hand seals. The Hokage, Orochimaru, Hinata and Naruto all had matching smiles though all for different reasons.

"Sabaku Sōsō" (Sand Burial)

At the very edge of madness, Gaara's intent was to destroy Sakura's body completely. He imagined that when his sand dispersed, all that would left Is the girls head. He had done that before and always found it satisfying. His first indication that something was not exactly right was that the sand around his opponent turned to rock.

Despite the pressure of the implosion, usually his technique left the sand in granular form. He also noticed that the pink haired girl's eyes had not lost any clarity. And for the first time Gaara was on the receiving end of one of his creepy smiles. He didn't like it.

Before he could fully process what was happening, the compressed sand exploded away from Sakura's body as chunks of rock. Gaara had time to hear the shocked gasps at the explosion but both he and the crowd were stunned that the explosion was only the first half of Sakura's movement. He was the first to recognize the second half as it was his face that her fist connected with.

Normally, being punched in the face would mean nothing to Gaara as he was constantly surrounded but a protective sand armor capable of absorbing the force of attacks against him. What he had never faced was what happens when the force of the attack is greater than the sands ability to absorb or as was the current case, when the force of the attack is far greater than the ability of the sand to absorb.

The real Gaara flew out of the back of a sand construct that looked like him and hit the wall of the Arena with enough force to create spider web cracks in the wall. Sakura did not used her full power as she did not want to kill Shukaku's container unless they were sure about what would happen to the demon and was prepared for it.

She stepped around the life like sand version of Gaara and started stalking toward the half-conscious sand shinobi. Her killing intent brought him back to his senses only for him to have a mental breakdown at the sight of his own blood. That was when the feathers started to fall from the ceiling.


	26. It Wasn't Supposed To Be Like This

… **Otogakure no Sato vs Konohagakure no Sato**

… **Hokage Box, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

Orochimaru recovered first from the shock of Sakura punching Gaara out of his protective sand armor. His genius mind desperately wanted to analyze what he just saw and what it meant about the pink haired shinobi, but with strength of will he buried that and made the sign for the plan to commence. He did not need Gaara to win and no matter how strong the kunoichi was, she was no match for the one-tailed demon.

His signal activated the seal on Gaara's stomach and acted as a beacon for all his forces to commence the plan. For Gaara it would complete the weakening of the containment seal on his stomach and allow Shukaku to get free when the genjutsu put him to sleep. Thinking his distraction was working he turned to watch as his body guards moved and put up a barrier around the Hokage's box to isolate the Hokage.

The barrier required all four guards to act as anchor points. It was a powerful jutsu that required four Jōnin level shinobi to cast. The benefit was that the barrier was many times more powerful than the people casting it. Not even a Kage could cross the border of the barrier without having their chakra eating them from the inside out. Interestingly enough, the more powerful the chakra user the more effective the barrier would be against them.

With a combination of joy and arrogance, Orochimaru ripped the fake body away from himself and revealed himself to his old master. He was disappointed and surprised at how little effect his appearance had and pieces started to fall into place. Pieces that he did not like. He was brought out of his musings when his target moved. He had prepared to be attacked and his bodyguards were equally prepared. But they were all confused when the Hokage, instead, attacked the Tsuchikage. The man's hatred for all thing Konohagakure would only be increased when he was later woken up and untied.

… **Competitor's Box, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

If Orochimaru had been paying attention to what was happening outside the barrier, he would have been angry at how his plans were falling apart. It would have also been the last piece of data to deduce how and why things were going wrong. Unfortunately, that realization wouldn't come till it was too late to do anything about. The genjutsu had put most of the civilians to sleep almost instantly but before it could affect any of the shinobi, Naruto put his hands ran through a series of seals and said "kai". He did not scream but the force of his chakra was felt throughout the stadium and broke the genjutsu before it could fully form.

… **Viewing Stands, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

Ogata Mareo was a missing nin from Iwagakure. He was a true genjutsu master and a cruel and devious man. He had only become a master of genjutsu so he could torture his fellow man and had led a life of rape, murder and torture. He was also much more powerful than he could ever dream due to the deal that he had accepted from Orochimaru. He had great plans for after his service was done, including a few of the Konoha kunoichis he hoped to take with him.

He was shocked when instead of a sleeping stadium of people and shinobi, his genjutsu was broken. It was done so quickly that even though he was angry, he had to respect the power of whomever had managed it. He would never discover the truth as pain erupted in his body before darkness claimed him. Kurenai, who was finally given a target of her anger, attacked male the shinobi who had clearly been responsible for the attempted genjutsu with fury by first cutting through his groin before removing his head.

When the battle on the arena was over. 15 enemy male shinobi would be discovered missing their manhoods in addition to being dead. 4 of them would be found to be disemboweled as well. Later investigation would indicate that death was not quick for more than half and two had died from bleeding out from where their sex used to be. I fact made more gruesome by the fact that there is no artery there and instead, the clotting wounds had been repeatedly re-opened.

… **Arena Floor, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

Even with the genjutsu broken, the little power it was able to carry, the extent of his injuries and the fact that he had not slept in a year caused Gaara to fall unconscious. Unfortunately for Shukaku who eagerly made his way toward the seal to break free, Haruna Sakura arrived first.

She had no desire to be a fūinjutsu mistress and she was currently only a level 8 with no desire to go further. But it was known that she would be the closest to Gaara when the plan unveiled itself so she learned enough to apply an improved five element seal to Gaara halting the release of Shukaku in its tracks. With her job complete she jumped back to avoid the wind attack that came from Temari.

A minute early Temari had watched as her brother take a monstrous punch from the pink haired kunoichi who she assumed had been trained by the "slug princess" Sannin. She had suspected as much after the pinkette had defeated her but felt that the punch confirmed it. It was the final nail in the coffin that everything they knew about Konoha was wrong. She ignored the small voice in her head that delighted in her brother getting hit and started to move toward him.

She did not know that Orochimaru's plan was to release the one tail in the middle of Konoha so intended to grab her dazed brother and get her and their third brother out of the village. She was sure that this invasion would not go as planned and intended to get her family back to the safety of their own village before she lost one or both of them. She felt the genjutsu pass over the seal that kept her immune but then stumbled at the wave of chakra that disrupted it.

Then she saw the pink haired girl attack her brother on his seal and she reacted by sending a wind attack at the girl. She made it to in front of her youngest brother and wondered where her second brother was when his broken body landed in front of her. She saw that he was breathing but cursed at the fact that she now had to carry both of them. That was if she could get out.

To either side of her landed the Uzumaki and the Hyuga. She remembered them as the team from the confrontation they had before the start of the exams. She wanted to know which of the two arrivals was responsible for the bloody pulp that was her puppeteer brother but had bigger issues at the moment. The clear betrayal of Konoha by Suna was much more serious than accidentally pummeling the grandson of the Hokage.

The "pink bitch", as she now thought of her, had already beaten her in the preliminaries and was strong enough to punch Gaara out of his sand protection. In addition, she had seen the other two fight, as well, and she was very sure she could not beat them individually, much less three on one with her two brothers to protect. Looking past them, she could see that the invasion had already failed before it could start. She could see many dead Suna and Oto shinobi in the stands and with each moment the ratio between leaf shinobi and their enemy grew.

She could not see a way out. The sand village was not an enemy that had attacked. If they had been, she was sure that as the children of the Kazekage, they would make a good option for ransom. No, the sand village was an ally that had betrayed them. Her and her brothers' lives would be considered forfeit as a debt of honor. This was the moment. She would have to sacrifice herself for her brothers, just not in the way she had expected.

… **Hokage Box, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

Orochimaru was not happy.

The fight between himself and his old master had commenced immediately after the older man had incapacitated the Iwagakure kage. It was a smart move, because it instantly reduced the battle to one on one. The Tsuchikage was a wild card to the fight that would have probably sided against the Sandaime and represented the easier of the two enemies to disable.

The man known as the "God of Shinobi" was no fool. But that was not why he was unhappy. He was unhappy because the controlled fight he had expected where he would be able to taunt and belittle his former master had not materialized. Instead he felt as if he was being toyed with. The brief glimpses he had been able to get while engaged in the, far too difficult, fight had shown to be true, what he had suspected; the planned invasion had been discovered and the village was beyond ready for it.

Orochimaru was forced to leap before he was fully prepared as the Hokage dived through his mud clone and arrived at his true location. The cracked concrete surface was worrisome because his former master had not pulled that punch. It was an attack meant to maim him and he started to understand that he no longer could count on the man's mercy due to their past together.

The lack of demon destruction sounds was bothersome to Orochimaru. Defeating his distraction, even so early in the battle did not faze him, but he had no idea how they had done it. He wasn't even sure that they hadn't prevented the escape of Shukaku completely. How had they done it. He slithered around a combination earth and fire release attack that forced him to dodge a barrage of molten rock.

The attack was more powerful than it should have been and in response the Snake drew his sword from within his stomach. The Sword of Kusanagi was meant to be one of his trump cards. It was supposed to cause his former master to pause. Instead the "old man" moved at a speed he had not used before and Emma, the monkey king, appeared in the form of the Adamantine Staff.

A weapon lock and an overpowering move later and his prized sword was flying through air. Then the staff extended and slapped the sword from the air and it landed point down in the concrete. A stamp of the Hokage's feet and the ground pulled the sword down into the concrete till only the hilt remained.

That was when Orochimaru realized that it was he who was being toyed with. He expected to face a weak Sarutobi Hiruzen who had grown old and complacent and instead faced his former master who he could never defeat. Looking into the man's eyes, confirmed to him that he would not be offered mercy a second time.

He smiled. He smiled because others would not have been prepared for such a ridiculous possibility but he was not like others. He would still claim victory because he was prepared. The purpose of his next move was to shock his master with the power he had gained but it served the dual purpose of calling allies to himself when his opponent had none.

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei"

… **Village Walls, Konohagakure**

Jiraiya, Shodai Ero Sennin (First Perverted Sage) and Yokubō no abatā (Avatar of the Yokubō no kami), stood atop the walls of Konoha. Arrayed around him were the "Hadakashi" of Hentaishindo. One of the three sects, along with the Hadakashiko and the Kōgubuki (Masutā/Surēbu), of the fastest growing religion in the history of multiple universes.

Dressed in his new sage robes, the man was dashing. His white hair was still long and wild but and held back by a Hitai-ate. But the kanji for oil had been replaced with the kanji for breasts. He no longer wore a gi, but still wore a sleeveless red haori. Instead of a gi, his chest was covered by a mesh shirt that tucked into ANBU style pants, with shin guards.

His arms chest and stomach had grown more defined with his commitment to training and the effects of his tantric lovemaking. He looked the same but had undergone many changes. He had become and idealized version of himself. He was the most pleased that his own love tool had increase in length and girth.

The Hadakashi with him were all kunoichis, Jōnin or Tokubetsu Jōnin and currently only numbered six. Each of the Hadakashi pledged to serve as warriors of the Hentaishindo and as lovers to the Yokubō no abatā or any of the Yokubō no Sennin. Their duty and relationship with the religion being most similar to that of a member and their clan. They still took missions from the Hokage's office and were still considered to be shinobi of Konoha, but all of their pay went to the new religion.

All six women and the ten Chunin kunoichi that planned to join after achieving promotions to Jōnin did so simply out of their faith and commitment to the new religion. But membership in the sect did have a benefit beyond normal worshipers. The sect had been founded after the healing of people like Gekkō Hayate. After some experimentation, it was discovered that masturbating or having sex within the sexual senjutsu energy of Jiraiya would not only have a healing effect but, for women only, it produced powerful orgasms and had an age reversing effect.

For kunoichi, who had chakra, they also received a temporary increase to their chakra density that was directly proportional to the size of the orgasms. Only Jōnin or Tokubetsu Jōnin of the Hadakashi were allowed to fully immerse themselves when it was discovered that Chunin and Genin kunoichi would lose consciousness for the full duration of the increase to their chakra making the advantage moot. And that was how the Hadakashi came into being.

The six women still glowed from the ritualistic sex they had just participated in. It was only the second time that Jiraiya had fucked them directly instead of them having their own partners or using their fingers. The first time he had done it, the increase to their power had been, itself, orgasmic, and it had lasted a full 24 hours. Whoever was to become the Hadakashi high priestess would be truly lucky.

The Hadakashiko was the civilian equivalent sect to the Hadakashi and the one that Tomi belonged to and led as its high priestesses. The Hadakashiko received the same healing, and age reduction benefits and, of course, the powerful orgasms. But without chakra, women of all ages could become members. The price was prostitution.

Overnight the Hadakashiko put every other brothel in Konoha out of business (though they would reopen because the prices were too high for many). Under the power of Jiraiya's senjutsu, the women were, almost divine, in their physical perfection and sexual skill. As with the Hadakashi, all the money they earned went to the growing religion.

Currently 20 women were official Hadakashiko sisters. With 15 more adherents in training. The sect was headed by a council of priestesses of which Tomi was the high priestess. There were two priestesses on the council with her, Kayo and Satsuyo, who were both priestesses and former geisha. They trained the women personally and insisted that the women that were in the harem of the Yokubō no abatā be perfect in every way. A goal that seemed to be aided by their patron god. Luckily, physical beauty was not an issue as dwelling in the tantric senjutsu made a woman's body the best it could be.

The Hadakashi did not yet have a high priestess, but when they did she would join Tomi as, basically, Jiraiya's primary wives. Kayo and Satsuyo and the other priestesses of both orders were like his mistresses and the sisters would be like his concubines. Despite her elevated position, Tomi was still a Hadakashiko and would still share her bed with other men, on occasion, but she did not do so for money and very rarely did it outside of one of Jiraiya's revels where she would grant her favor to the men who Jiraiya wanted to "gift" for one reason or another.

The final sect was the Kōgubuki and was led by Asuma. He was a Kōgu Masutā and Haku was a Kōgu Surēbu. They had many people interested in joining the sect but Asuma and Haku were busy developing it and so had only allowed two other pairs to join. It would eventually become the hardest sect to enter as it required a Jōnin master/slave pair to be formed before acceptance and only then would the training begin.

They were a warrior sect and only admitted shinobi and operated similarly to the Inuzuka clan, except instead of a ninken partner a shinobi "tool master" (Kōgu Masutā) had a shinobi "tool" (Kōgu Surēbu). Asuma was absolutely sure his three Genin would all be promoted so he would have the time to develop a brand new dual shinobi taijutsu style, more advanced than the one he modified from the demon brothers.

The Kōgubuki was the only sect that allowed men, though men who were members of Hentaishindo could, along with women, attain the status of prophet and be granted the title, Yokubō no Yogensha. Only Kakashi had earned such a title though Jiraiya was considering elevating Anko as well. The Yokubō no Yogensha were not a sect. Instead they represented the people who had the opportunity to learn senjutsu and become Yokubō no Sennin and would be able to have Hadakashi and Hadakashiko serving them.

On the wall, Jiraiya looked at his warrior women, his Hadakashi, and gave them a lustful smile that was rewarded by the hardening of their nipples. Ever since accepting himself as an avatar of the Yokubō no kami he has been getting access to more and more lust powers. Powers that have only grown stronger with his tantric senjutsu rituals. Looking back, he had always had a perverted invulnerability to women when they were angry with his perverseness and those powers had only increased and broadened.

Looking at them, his mind drifted to memories of taking each of them and watching them take each other. His own memories influenced theirs and he could hear as their breaths quickened and their chakra began to hum with power. He knew that along with their, painfully, hard nipples, that their panties were soaked. Unlike their breasts which were uncovered, for all to see, he knew about the state of their panties because he could actually smell their arousal and taste it on the air and felt empowered by it.

He took a last look at the women because the battle was about to arrive. Each of them wore a one-piece suit that consisted of a bodice and pants combo. The suit hugged every curve tightly and the bodice stopped beneath their breasts leaving the beautiful "oppai" exposed. Around their waist they wore a gold sash. They carried weapons pouches on their legs and in the case of one, who was a kenjutsu specialist, a sword across her back.

Each wore a thick leather collar around their necks, with the kanji for desire burned into the material. Similar to the ANBU, each of them wore a clay mask over their face. The masks only covered the top half of the face and were all cat themed which included pointed ears. Their perfect bare breasts were the result of another of his perverted powers. He did not know where or how the idea came to him nor was it a fūinjutsu seal, as attested to by Naruto's confusion upon examining it, but he had drawn an intricate pattern across their chest and when he kissed it, had somehow given them an armor like protection that would only exist while their breasts were exposed.

The enemy arrived and he offered a blessing from the Yokubō no kami, giving a last look to each perfectly formed breast and noticing the markings on his warrior's chest glow, before leaping off the wall to engage the enemy along with the rest of the village defenders. Many an enemy shinobi would die in a confused state of lust, anger and regret.

… **Arena Floor, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

"Dorei Teikyō" Temari said before dropping her fan and kneeling on the floor. Both Sakura and Hinata looked to Naruto for guidance. Dorei Teikyō literally translated to "slave offering", but in the elemental nations it was a rare type of surrender, and one that most kunoichi swore to themselves that they would never offer.

In a world of shinobi, it was the height of stupidity to ever enslave one. To have a shinobi in your home as a slave was to invite a state of never ending fear of assassination or worse. The only way to keep a shinobi would be to make sure they are under lock and key, with guards and at all times which does not make a good slave.

The only way to trust a shinobi slave is if they first offer "Dorei Teikyō", of their own free will. A shinobi who offers such a thing makes a blood oath to serve that master above all things. A shinobi slave acquired through "Dorei Teikyō" is the opposite of one forced. To the point where they would kill their own family, if ordered.

In the case of Temari, she said "I offer my self to you Uzumaki-Namikaze, completely in exchange for my brother's lives and transport back to Sunagakure no Sato and a promise to never be sent to kill them." Then she hung her head. Either her and her brothers would die or she would have made the ultimate sacrifice for them as was her pledge to the memory of their mother.

Terms to the "Dorei Teikyo" was not unusual, though they are typically about achieving revenge. Most shinobi who make the offer are usually at a point where they have lost all their love ones and support and are making the pledge to gain aid in taking revenge. That is why Kabuto made the pledge to Orochimaru.

Virtually every kunoichi claimed they would rather die than make the pledge, especially to a male, knowing what their primary use would be. A truth some men found out themselves when they were surprisingly made to serve similar purposes. The few kunoichi willing to make the pledge, typically planned to not offering their body as part of the deal, something they expected would end in rejection and death. Temari did not make such a condition as her only concern was saving her brothers.

As a recognized clan head, this was a deal that Naruto had the power to make. He could hold the family under his protection and then negotiate with the village for their lives. Knowing that he had been offered a shinobi slave would make the negotiations easier. Every clan wanted to make it easy to acquire a slave in such a manner so they would not hinder Naruto in fear that if they were in a similar position, they would be hindered as well.

"OK" he said before turning to his future wives. "Take the boys, I'll take our new…friend. We'll lock them in the Uzumaki property. She will be a Namikaze slave though, and you can do as you will with her. The Namikaze compound will be completed in a month and then we will move her there." Temari shivered at the boy's tone and the look in the two women's eyes. She would be dutiful because her brothers would be safe.

… **Hokage Box, Chunin Exam Finals Arena, Konohagakure**

Orochimaru was unhappy again.

Even in the old days Hiruzen would have allowed for enough banter to allow for him to call forth the three coffins he intended. At worst, he would have been able to call forth two of them. But this new Hokage disrupted his summoning after the first coffin and he was only able to call forth the first Hokage, Senju Hashirama, then when he tried to insert the control tag into the Shodai's brain, the damn monkey got in his way and destroyed the tags.

Instead of standing back and watching the reincarnated Hokage fight the current one, he found himself in a wild battle with his former master, one that he was not winning. And it was the reincarnated Shodai Hokage watching in seeming disinterest. Orochimaru tried twice more to bury a control tag in the man that was supposed to be his back up but was stopped by Hiruzen, the first with a fire jutsu he had initially though had gone wide but had curved back and the second time by a shuriken.

Also, Hiruzen's power seemed to be greater than Orochimaru had ever remembered it and then he saw it. On the man's arm was his curse seal of heaven. He was confused but it didn't take him long to figure out that somehow they had copied his seal. "No, they changed it" he though petulantly. The Sandaime was pumping out chakra but there was no corruption or mutation.

He had abandoned that line of research because it was not powerful enough for his taste. He didn't know if that was still the case because he didn't know how much of the power he was seeing was because of the seal and how much was his former master's own strength. In either case, he needed to know what they had done because it was not him getting the power and control from that seal. That was when he remembered the pain he had received while escaping the forest of death and realized that they had probably done something to Anko's seal as well.

Anger welled inside of him and then pain came. The distraction caused him to falter and he was caught by a spinning back kick from his former master and he had not exchanged himself for one of his mud clones so he felt the full impact of the attack. The discovery of the seal helped him understand why he was having so much trouble with his mud clones. A painful block allowed him to scan the area and he saw her, standing on the other side of the barrier with a grin he had taught her. Mitarashi Anko.

He did not know how they did it but somehow, they reversed his curse seal. She was the controller and she was doing to him what he had done to all his experiments. She was tugging and pulling on the connection to disrupt his chakra just enough to throw of his timing. But now that she had seen that he was aware of what happened she was now just applying pain through the connection.

Too much was happening out of his control; he needed to leave. His decision was made more pressing when Enma finished explaining to the Shodai Hokage what was happening. He could force the man to stay motionless but could not get him to fight without the tags, at least not fight the right person. And with Anko disrupting him and his chakra anytime he tried to do something too big he realized that the disadvantages were stacking against him.

He jumped back and released his Edo Tensei, sending Hashirama back. He growled at the smirk the man gave him before he reverted to the dead Otogakure shinobi he had used for the resurrection ritual and the body collapsed to the floor. Seeing the dead body reminded him of Kabuto's failures and he grudgingly admitted that he should have listened to his servant. It was his own arrogance that failed him not Kabuto's.

It was time to go, but he was terrified of ordering his "sound four" to release the barrier. He was not in a good position with ANBU everywhere and Hiruzen seemingly untouched by the fight they were still having as he desperately thought about what to do. He also was pretty sure that Anko could control their marks as well. Then he paused. He could still feel their marks. He was confused. And angered by his confusion.

He winced in pain when his forearm broke under what appeared to be a wind aided punch. He tried to summon Manda, the snake boss and faltered when his whole body was racked with pain. He had expected her to use the same level as before but he should have known better. If anyone understood how little concentration it took for him to summon the boss snake, it would be Anko.

His sound shinobi were looking at him nervously as they tried to understand what he wanted them to do. They were watching him lose to the Hokage but knew their focus had to stay on the barrier or it would only be worse.

Orochimaru tried to call Kusanagi back to him since he knew the blade was poisoned and would give him a chance to escape but it was too firmly embedded in the stone and wouldn't move. It became mute, when the damn old man stomped his foot and used an earth jutsu to swallow the sword completely. Taking the sword out of his reach permanently. "It will have a place with the Kubikiribōchō" Hiruzen said with a chuckle.

His former master was laughing at him. So Orochimaru finally decided he had to sacrifice his team to aid his escape. He gave the signal to Sakon and Ukon who would know to abandon his fellows and the twins released the barrier and leapt for him to help the escape. Unfortunately for the trusting boys, Orochimaru knew it would not work so when the connected boys got within reach Orochimaru spun them and threw them into the four closing ANBU who impaled them on their swords.

Jirōbō died almost as soon as the barrier came down since his position was closest to the gathered leaf shinobi and he had not been prepared for it. His head was crushed by an overpowered kick to the head. All of the ANBU had the new power up seal, had trained diligently with it and they were pissed at the danger the Hokage had to face alone. That the weakest of them had the equivalent power of one and a half Kages meant that Orochimaru was truly screwed.

Kidōmaru died by Yugao's blade after having all of his arms removed before his head. Finally, Tayuya's life was saved by the fact that she had red hair. The Uzumaki's were searching for its lost clan and while death was likely in the future for the red-haired sound nin, that would come after a full investigation into her origins and any clues that could be found. So instead she was beaten to unconsciousness by Ibiki who sadistically made sure she went down in extreme pain.

Orochimaru had assumed that with the barrier down, the ANBU would move toward either his sound four or the Hokage to secure him and in that small window he could escape. Unfortunately for him, the Hokage had made it very clear that the traitor Orochimaru would find his end that day and at his former master's hand. It had long been a rule that the responsibility for the capture and killing of a rogue shinobi fell first to his former teammates. The reawakened will of fire in the old man meant that he had accepted that duty.

Because of that, no ANBU dared approach the Hokage while he was engaged in his fight. The inability to do as they had been trained and fight on the Hokage's behalf was reflected in the quick and brutal take down of the sound four. Similarly, Hiruzen's focus did not slip at all at Orochimaru's gambit. The Snake Sannin was his responsibility and he trusted his ANBU to deal with whatever the "bodyguards" were up to.

Orochimaru braced himself for pain as he made to leave. He figured Anko would not be distracted and that she would try to incapacitate him with pain. It would work eventually but, prepared, he was positive he could stomach all Anko could dish as his survival was more important to him than everything. The pain came but it wasn't from Anko, it was from his right calf and foot separating from his leg at the knee. He tumbled and looked at the wound in surprise. That was when the madness overtook him.

He could have still escaped. The injury was not life threatening. It even tickled his mind due to a plan he had been considering trying that would get Tsunade to join his side. And her skill would have made his leg as good as knew especially after he jumped bodies. But the blade that had taken his leg was lying next to him and it was the Kusanagi. The poison bladed Kusanagi. The poison bladed Kusanagi, carrying a poison even he was not immune to. At least not yet and chosen for how much pain it caused.

His clever bastard of a former master had used his earth jutsu to set a bear trap for him with his own sword. And now he was going to die. He could still save himself but he would need help. His Sound four were all dead or captured and he had no doubt the same could be said about Kabuto, if the failed invasion was any indication.

The last thing he said to his approaching former master, before the man unintentionally granted him one last mercy by taking his head, was "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

 **/Team 7 defeats Team Gaara…Flawless Victory**

 **/Team Hadakashi/Konoha Defenders defeats Otogakure and Sunagakure Invasion Force**

 **/Konohagakure ANBU defeats Sound Four…Flawless Victory**

 **/Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen defeats Orochimaru…Flawless Victory…Fatality**

 **...Konohagakure Wins**


	27. New Dawn New Day

… **Hokage Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

It had been a month since the attempted invasion and according to the reports, the attack had ended up being a boon for the village hidden in the leaves. Konoha had long held the reputation of being the strongest of the five major shinobi villages and the total defeat of the combined efforts of the Sound and Sand villages in their attempt to invade had re-affirmed that belief in many within the Elemental nations. That was especially true in the minds of the Daimyos, and made the entire incident a financial windfall.

" _Casualties were minor for the Konoha defenders. We lost 10 shinobi, all of whom were in the reserve forces. No critical injuries beyond the deaths and a few handfuls of minor injuries. (names and casualty levels attached)_

 _None of the main invasion forces got beyond the outer walls and the pockets of invaders that were smuggled in were all captured or killed in the first stage of the counter offensive. The Arena was the location of all the open fighting inside the walls and had 20% more casualties than outside the walls, but with no deaths._

 _A final altercation occurred during the invasion window but was determined to be unrelated to Orochimaru's plans. The surviving Iwagakure Genin team and one of Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto's bodyguards, Sugi, fought when the Kitsune discovered them trying to set up a trap at the approach to the Uzumaki compound. The Genin's bodies were returned to Iwagakure with the other team's bodies. The Tsuchikage joined them." (see Iwagakure incident report for details.)_

 _\- Excerpt from Konoha Invasion Attempt Report_

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage relaxed in his office ruminating on the previous month. With the invasion over, he had ordered the expansion of the Heaven Seal program. The village contracted with the Namikaze Clan to apply the seal and paid out a lump sum for the seal and would be paid per seal applied by each active shinobi.

Officially the Namikaze Clan developed a modified Cursed Heaven Seal with the Uzumaki and then bought out the Uzumaki share with a contribution of money and Fūinjutsu notes that had been made by Namikaze Minato. The deal also included an official bond of friendship between the two clans. Hiruzen, as the Hokage, had been responsible for ratifying all the agreements and found it funny when Naruto had to talk to himself as part of the official ceremony, since he was the head of both Clans.

Once all the official papers were signed, the Hokage's office started sending Shinobi to the newly opened Namikaze district's tattoo shop. The individual shinobi could decide where the seal would be placed with the only restriction being that if it was in a spot that would be regularly seen, then it had to be hidden beneath a second tattoo. The secret of Konoha's increase in power would eventually be found out but there was no reason to make it easy.

In short order, with the help of shadow clones, the entire Konoha Shinobi force had received the seal and now the weakest Genin in the village had the chakra reserves of a high Chunin from any other village. Most of the village were now members of the Hentaishindo so the seal was placed on a lot of asses and around a lot of genitals. Since the chances of being naked in public had become almost guaranteed in Konoha, all the seals were hidden beneath a tattoo. Mostly little flames, leaves or kanji's for words like lust, sex, desire, want, breasts, etc.

The drastic increase in the skill and power of the Konoha shinobi force was already being noticed and rumors about how that had been achieved were swirling. Outside the walls of his village, Konoha was stronger and more feared than it had ever been, but as was the nature of karma, within the walls existed more conflict and tension than the Hokage had seen since just before the massacre of the Uchiha clan.

He paused in his thoughts to enjoy the efforts of the future Genin on her knees between his legs as she capably worked to keep his stress at manageable levels with her oral skills. Behind him, Kao's mother aided her daughter's efforts by pressing her large breasts into his back while rubbing her fingers lazily across his exposed chest.

The new love of his life, a woman who he was sure would get along famously with his lost love, Biwako, was summarizing the many reports that had come into his office. While he was on his couch, Yuyu was posing across his desk as she read the reports, her naked body offering just as much stimuli to him as the globes at his back and the wet, warm pressure in his lap.

"Both sides of the Hyuga conflict have been warned that you will show your displeasure if their infighting should hurt anyone in the village again." Yuyu stated, managing to be supremely professional despite her spread legs and her growing contribution to the heavy scent of aroused womanhood within the room.

Hinata's removal of the cage bird seal from every branch member and her application of the "preventative" seal to the entire Hyuga Clan, branch and main family, had thrust the clan into civil war, one that was carried out mostly by the leadership of the families. The girl who was technically still the heir to the clan head position had done it in one night without anyone being aware till the morning. The only benefit was that Hiruzen was able to order the preventative seal put on everyone without fear of challenge from the, thoroughly distracted, Hyuga clan.

The Hokage grunted in agreement. A skirmish had broken out between a branch and main family member, in a civilian owned shop and the shop owner had gotten caught in the middle. The man had been hurt severely but not critically and would be fine except for the painful memories. The ANBU had stepped in and ended the fight with brutal efficiency. They had not killed either man but it had been a close thing.

It was the second warning that the Hokage had to give after branch and main family shinobi were caught attempting to sabotage each other while on missions for Konoha. "Neither the branch nor the main family wants to have the 'Uchiha' incident, happen to them so the warning has been taken very seriously and the battles have receded back to a proper shinobi fight full of attempted assassinations and infiltrations." She added. The Hyuga compound had been split into two districts with walls within the greater walls.

"Speaking of the 'Uchiha' incident, you still need to make a decision about Koharu"

Kao popped her head off of him and glared at her aunt. "I almost had him" she complained. "don't listen to her, papa, your little Kao-mumō will make you happy", she said before going back to work. He had been on the edge before her mean aunt had distracted him. Kao had the least opportunities to be with the man that she playfully called "Papa" and whose honorific for her was a play on the fact that she had no hair on her little pussy when he took her virginity and still didn't.

The girl was very skilled, but the Uchiha incident and what had been discovered about his advisor's part in it still rankled him. He had no problem ordering her death if necessary, but in this case she had broken no law and the massacre was as much the fault of his own complacency as Danzō and Koharu's ambition.

He still remembered when Itachi had returned from his mission and announced that the Uchiha Clan's betrayal was too wide spread and he had been forced to massacre the entire Clan. He had been furious. Especially since Sasuke had not been the only child within the walls of the Uchiha district. The whole story, including the entrance of a shinobi named Tobi, had led to Hiruzen taking the most sensible option and sending Itachi out to infiltrate Akatsuki.

But now he knew that Danzō and Koharu had worked together to manipulate the situation. He didn't know if the Uchiha were on an unmovable path toward rebellion but the analysts all agreed that the two advisors actions were clearly geared toward pushing them in that direction. It was also those two that had changed Itachi's mission parameters to kill all of his relatives. He would never trust the older Uchiha but at least he knew the boy had been acting under orders.

Dealing with Danzō had not been a problem. The man had done enough to justify his arrest and more had been discovered after his hidden recruiting and training facilities had been discovered during the final assault on ROOT. The warmonger's true reason for manipulating Itachi into killing his entire clan became evident when it was discovered that beneath the wrappings on his arms were the poached eyes of the massacred Uchiha clan.

The fight between he and the ANBU had been bloody and Hiruzen had lost one of his elite soldiers but the rejuvenation of the ANBU program in addition to the "Heaven Seal", had allowed for the ANBU to come out victorious. Danzō showed himself to be a coward in the end and killed himself with a suicide jutsu. It was that jutsu that took the life of the one ANBU.

Hiruzen did not know what to do with Koharu. He removed her from her advisory position to him, putting the final nail in what was once his team. He despaired at how far they had moved from each other. Only Homura remained as one of his advisors and there seem to be an ocean between them even when they sat in the same room.

The Sandaime Hokage had authorized Sasuke's councilors to tell him the truth about the massacre of his family when they thought he was ready to hear it. "I've told Sasuke's councilors to tell him the entire truth" he said to finally answer YuYu's question. The secretary nodded understanding what wasn't said, Hiruzen was not protecting Koharu and if she was alive when the boy was told the whole story, he would likely kill her. Yuyu knew that the woman probably knew that, but had made no plans to leave the village showing herself to have more courage than Danzō.

Kao was finally able to use her skill to overcome Hiruzen's melancholy and swallow her prize. Yuyu paused the daily reports to help her sister and niece inspire their lover and happily accepted her prize in her womb.

… **Namikaze District, Konohagakure**

The Namikaze district was a large area that included a small, wooded, training ground. Cobble stone paths separated the area into a grid and plots had already been prepared for homes, stables, supply depots and the other buildings required for a large clan estate. A few of the buildings had been completed, like the blacksmiths and the medical facility and, of course, the "tattoo parlor", but the only home that had been completed was the main house that sat at the center of the property.

The clan district was truly very large but the clan still only had one person. It would remain that way for a while because Naruto would not officially marry Hinata and Sakura until they turned 17 the next year. The sale of the "Heaven Seal" and preventative seal to the village made the already wealthy Namikaze wealthier and elevated it even more and neither Sakura's parents nor Hinata's father could reject the match, not that Hinata's father could at this point.

Hinata's father had other issues as his once great clan had devolved into open warfare. The only safe person in the entire family, other than Hinata, was Hanabi, who had become the new heir when Hinata's engagement was finally accepted. With Naruto having two wives, Hinata could have kept her position in the Hyuga Clan but she didn't want it. She wanted all her babies to be Namikaze. Hanabi was safe because Hinata had made it clear that she would destroy anyone who hurt her sister from either side. A threat everyone took seriously

The life of a Shinobi did not lend itself to waiting and delays but neither Hinata, nor Sakura were ready to halt their shinobi careers to raise children. That meant there was no rush for them to get married but also meant that Naruto wasn't doing his duty to his clan and the Uzumaki side already had pregnancies among the Kitsune. As the future Namikaze matriarchs the girls could not let that stand so the duty of beginning the Namikaze Clan was going to the newest addition. His slave, Temari.

… **Flashback (Day After Invasion Attempt)**

… **Council Chambers, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

When the proverbial smoke had cleared and the surviving sand and sound shinobi had retreated, the Konoha village council were called together and given a full briefing about what had just occurred. The report started with the discovery that a spy ring was operating within Konoha. The Hokage gave the report himself using a voice and bearing that once again proved why he had earned his position. He captivated his audience with his explanation of the revealed invasion attempt, and the planned and executed counter attack that led to the death of Konoha's most sought after missing nin, Orochimaru of the Sannin.

Next, each major participant in the operation briefed the council on their responsibilities and actions during the mission and the actions of the shinobi reporting to them. Then Naruto stepped forward. After the fact, he had been marked as an official member of the task force and no one could fault that decision. His most ardent detractors would never see him as anything but the Kyuubi, but those extremists were all but marginalized by this point. That marginalization would increase as word spread of his actions during the "invasion" solidifying the reputation he had been building for himself since graduating from the Academy.

The haters had a moment to murmur when he got to the part where he, as a clan head, accepted the Dorei Teikyō of Suna no Tamari. That murmur was silenced by the approving noises of a truly impressed shinobi council. He had not done much to achieve the victory, other than it happening in the sector he was responsible for, but in the game of life and death played by shinobi, luck was a quietly respected natural "skill".

Having the Kazekage's daughter enslaved to a clan in the village, was a very acceptable "payment" for the betrayal and all agreed to return the Kazekage's remaining children to the sand village. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama" Naruto spoke formally. He had always liked the fact that he could call his surrogate grandfather jiji in public and tweak the noses of the "stuck-up" civilians and shinobi around him, but he had achieved much in the last year, including the headship of two clans that were of high prominence. He would never be stuck-up, but his desire to be unnecessarily childish had gone.

"I do not think it is wise to return the Ichibi Jinchūriki to Sunagakure as he is. The five elements seal is holding but it can be overcome and I took the opportunity to examine Gaara's seal and it does not fill me with confidence that Shukaku would not eventually escape." Everyone ignored the snort from one Naruto's most persistent haters. Naruto was recognized as master of the art of fūinjutsu even beyond Jiraiya and his father. "What do you have in mind Naruto" the Hokage asked.

"My father and the Uzumaki Clan researched many seals with the Kyuubi in mind. And all of them could be used on Gaara" The question for this council is weather to direct me to use a seal that will permanently cut Gaara off from the chakra of the Ichibi, use one similar to the one used on the Hachibi's container that gives him access to a "tailed beast" mode or use an improved version that would give Gaara perfect control of the tailed beast mode."

What followed was a lively discussion. The first option was eliminated quickly. Even with notions of revenge, it was agreed that eventually Gaara would die and eventually after that the Ichibi would reform and no one would trust Konoha to help if they feared the leaf would use it as an opportunity to hold Suna down and lock away such an important resource. Konoha's unintentional "stealing" of mission contracts was what led to the current conflict and Konoha couldn't count on being prepared every time a disgruntled friend or enemy chose to attack. "Building enemies is exciting but not smart" the Hokage had said wisely.

The Hokage wanted to give Suna the improved seal. Many bristled but were won over by his arguments. Even with full control of the beast mode, Konoha's jinchūriki was more powerful. Also with the heaven seal which was going to be given to all Konoha shinobi, the Hokage was already more powerful than the one tail and any two or three ANBU could match the chakra of the creature.

"Lastly, after defeating the sand so thoroughly, showing this type of mercy will make us look good in the eyes of the Daimyo and send a message that we do not fear empowering possible future enemies. Some may think us foolish but in this time where our strength and power is feared, it will more likely suggest that we are more powerful than they even know." The Hokage concluded.

Naruto had been leaning toward the second option but had been convinced by the Hokage. He was not the only one and it was decided to use the upgraded seal. In addition, as a safety precaution against having another Orochimaru try to add to or modify the seal, as had been done, it was decided to put the preventative seal on him as well. It made sure that only Gaara could choose to be their enemy and not be used by any number of other forces.

"We have one last bit of business to handle" the Hokage announced before signaling one of his ANBU. Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, and Shino came into the room. He waved Naruto forward to join them. Shinobi business was not conducted with great fanfare or speeches. Instead the Hokage simply said, "Congratulations, we expect great things from you all" before tossing each of them a Chunin flak vest.

… **End Flashback**

… **Togashi Clan Compound, Kumogakure**

Karui walked through the halls of the large home moving with a purpose. It was obvious that she was agitated. Her teammate and surrogate sister caught up to her curious about what had her closest friend so flustered. "What is going on, Karui?" she asked while keeping pace with the girl. "Hi Samui" Karui mumbled without answering her question. It was obvious that the dark skinned redhead was heading toward the office of the clan head and as far as Samui was concerned that meant her "sister" needed support and she didn't need to have an explanation to offer that support.

They arrived at the office of Togashi Yatsuhiro. The man was a grand uncle of Samui but more importantly was the head of the Togashi Clan, which was a very influential shinobi clan in Kumogakure. He also was an honorary grandfather to Karui. Karui's mother and grandmother had arrived in the village when her mother was a baby and the future head of the Togashi clan had fallen in love at first sight with the young mother.

Tradition, responsibility and a few other obstacles kept the couple apart but Yatsuhiro had acted as a protector for Karui's family since the beginning. Karui was pretty sure her grandmother had been the man's mistress up until the day she died but it was never spoken about. She was brought out of her musings by the concerned look on her "grandfather's" face.

"Have you heard, Jiji." She exclaimed. Someone had claimed to be the head of the Uzumaki Clan. Karui felt her heart fall at the look on her Jiji's face. "It's true then" she said softly before dropping to her knees. Samui, who had already taken a respectful position on her knees when she entered the room, asked "What is going on?"

Yatsuhiro looked at the girl he considered his granddaughter and sighed. She would need her friends and decided to explain to his blonde grandniece what was happening. "As you probably know, Samui, Karui's mother and precious grandmother arrived in the village many years ago towards the end of the second shinobi war. They arrived here after their home was destroyed. They belonged to the Uzumaki Clan and were members of one of the branch families, the Uzusane."

"The fall of their village, Uzushiogakure, happened because Konohagakure failed in their duty to protect friends and allies" the clan head stated before detailing the fall of Uzu from the perspective of an angry member of the Uzusane family. The story was factual in its detail but incorrectly applied sinister motives to each failure of the leaf village.

Kioshi, Karui's grandmother believed to her dying day that Konoha had purposely betrayed them, drawing away their most skilled fighters and then providing no aid at the height of the fighting. She had left before the final fall of the village but had stayed as long as was possible, waiting for reinforcements to arrive from Konoha that would never come.

"Over the years since, Kumo has considered Konoha as having no honor." Yatsuhiro said. "We found out once that an Uzumaki had survived the war, as Kioshi had. We attempted to liberate her from the village but our retrieval team failed and, according to the reports we got, the attempt only solidified the survivors trust and faith in the leaf."

Samui knew a lot of the story of Karui, included the untold part where Kumo hid the fact that Karui and her mother were members of the Uzumaki Clan because Konoha had made it clear that all survivors were to be sent to the village. She did not know the details of Konoha's betrayal, however, nor did she yet understand why it was coming up now and especially why her friend was agitated.

Yatsuhiro looked at his granddaughter with sad eyes. "The last Uzumaki, who we failed to liberate, died when Konoha was attacked by the Kyuubi. Or that is what we thought. Uzumaki Kushina had grown into a powerful kunoichi for the leaf and her exploits in the third shinobi war were well known. Many times, Karui's mother, Katsu, begged the council to approach Kushina and try to tell her the truth and get her away from Konoha, but at the height of the war, it just wasn't considered feasible.

"My mother cried for days when word of Kushina's death reached us." Karui said "I know that the Kyuubi attack wasn't the fault of Konoha but my mother sees it as karmic retribution and that Kushina died because of Konoha's sins." She paused and looked in her Jiji's eyes "I don't see it that way, but if an Uzumaki survives, I will not let them stay there to die like their mother."

Yatsuhiro nodded. He did not think the young kunoichi understood how difficult her self-assigned task would be but didn't think he could stop her, so he promised to contract the mission to retrieve the last Uzumaki himself if the Raikage didn't order it on his own. Then he began to brief Karui on what they knew. "His name is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. He is the son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato." The older man saw the horror in Karui's face and went on.

"Yes, the yellow flash and Yondaime Hokage married Uzumaki Kushina in a secret wedding. As a young shinobi, he was the one to recover her from our retrieval team and they fell in love." He said, then took a breath before continuing. "Kushina was not only the last Uzumaki but she was before the death of the Clan, the heir to the Uzumaki family. She left Uzu with her mother, brother and sister. We don't know what happened but only she arrived in Konoha alive."

The older man went on to explain what Kumo knew about the revival of the Uzumaki Clan, which was not a lot and mostly learned from the shinobi they had sent to the recent Chunin exams. Both Karui and Samui looked on in shock as they were told of Naruto's discovery of the Kitsune contract (they had heard the rumor but didn't know it was the Uzumaki). He told them of the bargain struck and that the first generation of the new Uzumaki Clan would be mothered by 10 Kitsune wives of Clan Uzumaki.

He told them of the discovery of the Uzu treasure, the building of the Uzumaki compound, the discovery of the nomadic Uzukaatsu and the word that Uzumaki was inviting all who may have Uzu blood to join him under clan protection in Konoha. And finally he told them about the Namikaze compound and the Namikaze Clan status.

In the end Karui was undeterred. She knew that Naruto-sama, as she began to think of him, had forged many ties with Konoha, but to her they were built on lies and she intended to go and tell him the truth. What she had heard only made her mission more critical because it sounded to her as if the new Uzumaki head intended to make the Uzumaki and the branch families a Konoha Clan. Something she thought was an insult to her family's memory.

The fact that he was her Clan head also meant that she had a duty to present herself as the last survivor of the Uzusane family.

… **Main House, Namikaze Compound, Konohagakure**

Namikaze no Temari lay naked on her bed, a light sheen of sweat covering her body. Even after a month she was unsure how to feel about the situation that she found herself in. On the one hand, it was the nightmare of all kunoichi. She was the sexual plaything of a powerful and connected shinobi and stuck in a village that all considered her an enemy and had no empathy for her position.

Her position lying on a bed, naked and covered in sweat and bodily fluids spoke truth to the fears of all kunoichi. She had been used again by her new master and his ladies and left alone to wallow in the memories of her debasement. She could still feel phantom hands, lips and other more intimate body parts tracing across her skin and the heat and scent of Namikaze Naruto radiating off her flesh.

On the other hand, she had not been a virgin when Naruto first arrived in her bed and he had shown himself to be an amazing lover. He was domineering with her but not overly so and had provided her a steady stream of orgasms from the first time he had taken her under the watchful eyes of his two fiancés. She felt a lot of things, but she definitely did not feel like wallowing.

She moaned as the very recent memory of "Naruto-dono" using her body. She could still feel his hands on her breasts and his manhood in her body. She shivered and felt some of him leak out of her swollen center. She was still young but Naruto's future wives and he had decided that the time to begin populating the clan was now. She was already pregnant.

She had to admit that she was happy that he had not abandoned her body once his goal had been achieved. Even if it was not his desire she had feared that his "wives" would have insisted. But "Hinata-chan" and "Sakura-chan" had joined in after the second time Naruto had finished inside her. And they had enjoyed her body as much as her new master had. They introduced her to sapphic love as well as forced her to act as a submissive with them.

She was not a natural sub, but it was the role she would have to play in her new household. She did not enjoy being a sub but she did not hate it either and she found herself really enjoying the other women's bodies, if nothing else. "That had been a surprise" she thought while licking her lips where she could still taste Sakura. The first time they told her that once she was pregnant they would be using their tongues to claim whatever Naruto left inside of her had sent a thrill to her core. She would have to tell them they hadn't gotten it all the next time they visited.

When she had first committed to selling her body in exchange for the lives of her brothers, she thought of two possible outcomes. In the first, her body would be violated in unimaginable, and possible painful ways until her new "master" became bored with her and killed her or he would be "overcome" by her "willing sacrifice" and fall madly in love with her.

The little girl and village princess within her believed the second would happen. The politician agreed, since after the disastrous invasion, the only way to secure Suna would be through a political marriage between the daughter of the Kazekage and a prominent Konoha clan. The kunoichi believed it would be the first option.

What she got was neither or perhaps both. Naruto had no true love for her but he had need to build a clan that currently only had one person in it. Her new master intended to build branches within his clan and he had high hopes for his union with her, since she was a fellow Fuuton user. And even if he would never love her he showed that he cared for her and had promised to protect her.

In a way, she was in a sort of political marriage, since she would be the mother of a Namikaze branch. The difference being that her family got nothing in return and she had no protection as she was a slave to her new owner's desires. If she had joined the Namikaze as a wife, in the traditional arrangement, then some of her children would be of Suna. Instead he had expressly told her that was not going to happen. All her children would be Namikaze and purposely not be taught any sand techniques.

The good news was that he had no intention of sewing decent within his new clan by treating the mother of his future children with disrespect, so the home he was having built for her would be well appointed and in keeping with her past as a princess of one of the five major shinobi villages.

Her mind drifted to her brothers and she smiled. The happiness she felt due to her brothers' situations and the still pleasurable after effects of the sex she had just had, caused her to admit to herself that she was, in fact, not unsure about where her life had led her. The only thing she had lost was her ability to be an active shinobi. A tingle of pleasure ran through her body and she decided to stop pretending. She had never saw her life as having a future and now she had one.

In truth, she would have personally dragged all the kunoichi of Sunagakure into slavery with her in exchange for what Naruto had done for her brother. She had already given her life and her body to Naruto for their freedom. In exchange for what he had done for her brother she had given him her total and complete submission. She was the perfect mistress for him. Beyond not denying him anything, she was an eager participant. Things that she never imagined doing, she did with relish. From swallowing his seed to taking him in her ass, to spending hours between the legs of either of his true wives.

She should be frightened because over the month she had been in the Namikaze Clan, she was beginning to truly turn into the girl she was committed to being, but she did not care, it was a small price to pay. Naruto had "fixed" Gaara's seal and freed her brother from his constant torment. And she would happily be the most scandalous slut for him for as long as he wanted her.

Her brother had slept for the entire journey back to Sunagakure, freed from the constant nightmare that was being a jinchūriki for the "one-tail", and according to Kankuro, the boy who had finally awoken was completely different. According to her middle brother, her baby brother had cried when he was told what she did for them. The letter she received from him was full of apologies and even an offer to take her place. She doubted her brother could fill the role that she had in the Namikaze Clan, but the offer brought her to happy tears.

Like Naruto, Gaara had earned the promotion to Chunin, while neither her nor Kankuro had been promoted. The brothers were working together to fix their personal reputations and that of the Suna. The village had no Kage since Orochimaru had killed the Yondaime Kazekage, and half the council had been removed or executed after their involvement in Orochimaru's plot had been discovered.

Even though it was only through letters, she now had the brother she had always wanted. He was more powerful than ever. And Naruto had promised her that once relations between Suna and Konoha had normalized again, her brothers would be allowed to visit. Her master, because that was what he was and what she considered him, was good to her and she was happy.

Something in her mind clicked and her mind finally settled into peace. Naruto was her master. She had entered into service of her own free will and gotten everything she had asked for and more. She started to refer to him as "Shojin-sama" (master) or with the pet name "Naruto-Shojin" in her own mind. The next time she saw him, she would call him that. Her nipples hardened and her sex grew warm at the thought of his likely reaction. She rubbed her flat stomach where her true future grew.


	28. Chunin Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto

… **Undisclosed Detention Facility, Konohagakure**

If Tamari had spent the last month experiencing pleasures that she had not imagined, then the polar opposite would be the life of Yakushi Kabuto. Since his capture he had been undergoing a continuous torture and he was running out of reasons to not allow his mind to snap and accept death. When he had first awoken in captivity he had instantly recognized where he was and calmed his mind in preparation. At the time, he knew two things. The first was that he would not tell them anything of use and the second was that eventually Orochimaru would come for him, if only to kill him himself.

He had not been surprised when the "soften up" phase began with the appearance of Mitarashi Anko. Kabuto had not been directly involved in the atrocities committed against the purple haired kunoichi but had no doubt he would act as a stand in for all her pent up hate and anger for his master. As the torture began, however, something had bothered him. Something about his "interrogator" seemed off and since ignoring the last time he felt that way had led directly to his incarceration he used the time ignoring the pain to focus on it.

Now a month later, with it harder to ignore the pain and find a peaceful place in his mind to think, it came to him. Anko was at peace. For someone who had been betrayed the way Anko had been and knowing her personality, she should have had a constant aura of desperation, even if she could suppress it so that it was small. But in Anko it had been missing from the first day she arrived in his cell.

Grasping at any train of thought that could distract him from his thigh being split open, he realized they hadn't asked him anything. He remembered thinking it before, though he had completely lost track of time so didn't know when, but he had just thought that it was because they knew as a servant of Orochimaru, they could never get him to talk. Now, considering Anko's peace, he started to think differently and didn't like the possible conclusions. He lost hold of his thought when his testicles were clamped again and he screamed out in pain.

When next he was able to think again the thought trickled back into his mind. And a shocking conclusion was reached. "Is it possible that Orochimaru had been captured or killed." Both ideas seemed ridiculous. His master would never allow himself to be captured and even though he suspected the invasion had been a failure, only three people had a chance to actually kill him. Jiraiya didn't have the commitment, Tsunade still loved him a little and lacked the desire and Hiruzen's guilt at his own perceived failure caused him to not have the will.

The puzzlement must have shown on his face through his pain because Anko smiled. "you've figured it out." She said with a sinister glee that Kabuto had only ever heard from his master and reminded him acutely that he was facing someone who was once an apprentice of the Snake Sannin. "I have been waiting for that brilliant mind of yours to reach this point." She said and then carried a stool to rest in front of him. Instead of sitting on the stool, however, she pulled out a piece of parchment with a storage seal on it and quickly released its contents.

Kabuto's mind rebelled at what he saw. Orochimaru's head had been placed on the stool. "Go ahead look at it. I don't want you to have any doubt about what you are seeing because we both know how slippery the snake bastard can be. I also understand that you are at your core a med nin and no one has been closer to him than you have been for a long time."

Anko let him stare at the detached head of Orochimaru of the Sannin for three hours. She did not taunt him or torture him in any way. She didn't even stand in his line of sight wanting to give him all the time in the world to come to terms with what he was seeing. It was also the only piece of information she wanted from him. If he accepted that the head in front of him was Orochimaru's then she would believe her tormentor was truly dead.

She saw the moment when horrified acceptance had been achieved and with her heart singing in joy she silently moved to Kabuto and cut both his eyes out with a kunai while whispering "Thank You". She stared at the head for a full half an hour while the blinded slave screamed in pain and despair next to her.

… **Uzumaki Compound, Konahagakure**

The office was very nice. The furniture was dark woods and the room was painted in dark, bold colors. The prominent one was a burnt orange. Naruto was sitting at his desk and behind him, on the wall, was a long flag with the Uzumaki swirl on it. The office had been designed for formality and was on the first floor of the Uzumaki building. In his penthouse he had a second, more casually designed office, that was much more to his personal taste and comfort.

On either side of the door stood two of his kitsune wives, his bodyguards, Koma and Sugi. The Kitsune had each gained an eighth tail in the time since returning to the mortal realm and were absolutely gorgeous and deadly looking. Both were already pregnant but still had time before they could no longer do their duty.

Five of the 10 wives were pregnant as they planned to stagger the births. Each of his Kitsune wives planned to give him 9 children in bunches of 3 with each bunch separated by a decade. It was more than the agreed upon three but Naruto liked his Kitsune brides, loved the sex, and found the notion of half Kitsune Uzumaki enticing. When the time came Hinata and Sakura, each wanted 3 of their own as well.

Like many orphans, Naruto could not wait to be surrounded by his children. Having upwards of 40 kids would be an impossible task for most, especially if they wished to be a true father to them all, but Naruto was known for doing the impossible, plus he had shadow clones.

Naruto pulled his eyes from the sexy foxes who glowed with beauty to him and looked at his cousin. She sat across from him with a blank look on her face. For all of the hurt and pain that Konoha had caused him, he would not exchange his life with this girl's in a million years. And he shook his head at the absurdity of the notion that living as the Kyuubi jinchūriki in a village that hated the demon fox more than anything would have been a better option than the one that had been forced on the girl sitting across from him.

Her name was Tayuya and they were very similar. Like him, as far as he knew, she was the last member of her clan. The Uzuchika. Despite the hundreds of red-heads that had made their way to Konoha, he knew that the entirety of the Uzu clan would not number more than 50 people at the current time. 30 of them coming from the Uzukaatsu who had been "lucky" enough to have 5 pregnant members that had been evacuated earlier than even his mother.

They left with two retired shinobi, with permanent injuries as guards and a further two proto Genin that had not completed the Academy. The 9 had become 14 with the births and 17 years later after Karin's mother had left, the 13 had become 17 with the children's marriages and then 21 after the first births of that generation and had climbed to 30 now.

Tayuya's father was eight when his mother forced him to leave Uzu. He grew up bitter and angry that he had not been able to fight to the bitter end with his older brother. Not even marriage was able to calm the depression and when Tayuya's mother died he finally succumbed to his demons, dying himself in fight he picked with an unknown person in a bar.

Tayuya had quickly become victim of a series of abusive men that would repeatedly rape her before selling her. Eventually she learned to defend herself and with the Uzu genetics became very accomplished quickly. Unfortunately, her raw power and skill caused her to become a prisoner and experiment for Orochimaru where she was forced to compete in death matches. A lot of victories garnered her a promotion and eventually led her to her current position.

She knew nothing of her Uzu heritage and it was only the genetic testing and investigation done by the T&I department that revealed her origins. The girl had lived a brutal life and that was reflected in the abrasive nature of her personality. At first she had been completely resistant to Naruto's desire to have her rejoin the Uzu clan and the boy was not proud of the thoughts he was having about how to save the Uzuchika.

Fortunately for Naruto, he had recently acquired some leverage. He had already made some progress with her and his acquisition happened to have a great deal to say about his wayward cousin. Naruto made a hand gesture and a young woman walked into the room. When Tayuya saw her, she stiffened in her seat. Her eyes followed the new arrival until she finished her entrance standing next to Naruto.

Her name was Tsuchi Kin and she was the closest thing Tayuya had to family in the shitty life she had been forced to live. Tayuya's eyes narrowed. She did not like how close her "sister" was standing next the blonde who claimed she was a lost member of his clan. She didn't like the furtive, semi-guilty glances she was being sent by the young woman. She knew she was in no position to do anything as she was still a prisoner, did not have her flute and was in a room that had two Kitsune, who were clearly prepared to end her.

… **Flashback**

It did not take a lot for Kin to begin cooperating with the Konoha T&I department. She did not have any real loyalty to Otogakure and the curse seal of heaven that was on her was a true curse as far as she was concerned. Unlike her two teammates, she had not wanted the seal. She had been told that she would not have to take it if she did not want to, but was betrayed and branded with her teammates.

Her time in the sound village had been filled with similar small betrayals like that. She would have kept her mouth shut anyway except that the questions she was being asked made it clear that Konoha knew about the planned invasion. But the main reason she had cooperated so quickly was that wherever they were keeping her, she no longer felt the corrupting nature of the curse seal and it was liberating. She was willing to do anything to keep that feeling and she told them that.

Shortly after her admission the door to her cell opened and in walked in a very sexy Shinobi even though he didn't look that much older than she was. He was dressed in a hakama and haori combo that looked regal and he carried himself with the same casual confidence she had noticed in the most powerful shinobi. People like her teammate, Dosu, where strong but they knew they weren't that strong and so were constantly showing as much bravado as possible. The contradiction between this shinobi's apparent age and experience intrigued her.

"Kin, this is Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, he is the head of two very prominent clans in Konoha. When Naruto drew closer, Kin flinched in surprise. She remembered him from the first phase of the chunin exams. It was a shock to her that the man in front her was in fact a boy and he was supposed to be a Genin. She didn't believe it and concluded that he had been operating under cover as part of the counter to the planned invasion.

Her interrogator, whose name she had not been given, explained that the boy in front of her was a fūinjutsu master and had the ability to remove the curse seal from her. He was also responsible for the suppression seal that was keeping her disconnected from Orochimaru.

"You have been very helpful since your capture and the administrators of the prison are considering paroling you. Would you be interested in that?" Naruto said to her. Kin looked at him and her eyes narrowed. Tayuya had taught her to never trust deals that sounded too good, there was always a catch. "What's the catch" she asked adopting her sister's brusque tone.

The blond smiled at her "The mind walkers and interrogators all agree that you are a very good shinobi. You have high Genin level taijutsu skill and Chunin level ninjutsu. In addition, while you have no loyalty to Otogakure, you actually have all the qualities to be a loyal shinobi if you found a village to put your faith in. We all think you would be a good fit in the leaf."

Naruto paused for a moment looking in her eyes before nodding at whatever he found there. "Also I am the head of two clans, both of which had been driven to near extinction and I am responsible for repopulating it. I would like you to join the Namikaze clan as one of my mistresses."

Kin was surprised. She knew objectively that she was attractive. Kunoichi were typically young girls that had trained most of their lives. Also molding chakra had a passive minor healing effect, so most shinobi were relatively attractive in one way or another. When she asked what the catch was she had feared that sex would be the demand. It was always the demand made of kunoichi. The answer was, indeed, sex, but this was a little bit more than that.

She had not been raised in the "cultured" world of civilized shinobi villages, but it had been part of her education. Because of that, she knew that there was no way someone like her could be made a wife to a clan head, but she also expected to simply be raped, then killed. Being a mistress to a clan would definitely be an easier life than she had lived.

… **End Flashback**

Kin looked at her older sister. Naruto-shojin, a nickname she had picked up from her fellow Namikaze mistress, sat quietly as she explained herself to her adopted sister. She didn't cower when Tayuya's eyes looked deeply into her own eyes, or when Tayuya's gaze ran over her form, likely looking for any sign of abuse or possibly just judging her for the scandalously short kimono she was wearing. The outfit was a bit of a tradition for Naruto's Namikaze girls but Tayuya would not know that.

Kin desperately wanted her "sister" to join her. She knew the older girl had no love for Otogakure. Tayuya had accepted Orochimaru's seal but that had been a survival tactic. The red-headed girl probably hated Orochimaru as much as she did. If what she had been told was true, Tayuya was a member of a lost clan, a very wealthy lost clan. If the redhead would stop being stubborn, a good life could be attained for both of them.

… **Hokage Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure**

Naruto finished his report to the Hokage. Tayuya had agreed to rejoin the Uzuchika and would be leaving with the Uzukaatsu to settle into the rebuilt Uzushiogakure. She refused to be a Konoha shinobi but would swear allegiance to her clan which was good enough for the Sandaime. More than a few of the returning Uzu would have loyalties to villages around the elemental nations and allegiance to Uzu would be all that Naruto was prepared to ask of them, much to the consternation of people like Danzō.

Traveling with Tayuya would be 15 families that had been found to be lost members of the whirlpool village. Three of them were Uzuchika like Tayuya, a happy surprise even though it made Naruto a little sad as he had not found any additional Uzumaki. The Uzumaki would have been the last to leave the village when it was under attack so he was unsurprised by that fact.

The remaining found Uzu, were a mix of Uzukaatsu and Uzusane. In all the Uzumaki Clan and the branch families would number 75 persons in the direct line when they returned to their home. Once they were behind the walls, Naruto would announce the revival of Uzushiogakure to the world. The Hiraishin gate was not being used as Naruto wanted to keep that a secret.

With his briefing completed, the Hokage asked Naruto to wait and he looked up when his two girlfriends entered the room. It was obvious that the Hokage had a mission for them. It would be their first mission since being promoted to Chunin, their first one without their Jōnin sensei to accompany them and their first mission in a month, over two if one did not count the invasion. They had been very busy, but that had been in political maneuvering for their Clan.

Then Jiraiya, Tomi and three of the topless Hadakashi walked in. It was interesting that even though all the people in the room gave appreciative glances to the beautifully displayed breasts, and the barely hidden nude form of the High Priestess, no one lost their composure.

"There are actually two primary missions to be assigned, but Jiraiya has asked that I combine them." The Hokage began. "It is not common knowledge, but Jiraiya's absence from the village was not just because of his desire to roam the elemental nations. He is the head of our Intelligence department and was maintaining our intelligence network. His elevation has caused him to re-think his methodology and he plans to re-configure the operation to allow him to remain based in Konoha. Which is the first part of the mission."

Naruto looked at his godfather. The two had become close since the blonde had forgiven the older man and Naruto and his two girlfriends were even members of Jiraiya's religion. "The second part of the mission will be Team7's focus. I want you to find and then deliver this scroll to Senju Tsunade." The Hokage said before handing a scroll to Naruto. "Then I want you to escort her back to the village. I warn you Tsunade may not want to return, so prepare for her to be belligerent and possibly violent."

Jiraiya spoke up, "I also would like to speak with her, which is why I requested we joined the two missions. I fear that our conversation has the potential to make her even more violent, but it is a conversation long overdue and I am confident you can handle her and her temper." All three of the newly minted Chunin nodded.

"Hokage-sama. I would like to add a third mission to be included in this trip and will pay the appropriate fees." Naruto said. "Since this mission will have us out of the village for a while, it may be a good time to announce that Uzushiogakure is rebuilt. I would like to pay for this contingent to spend a week there to handle the announcement and any repercussions."

The Hokage looked to Jiraiya, who nodded in agreement and the Hokage accepted the addition. "Finally, Asuma's original goal for your team has been realized and with your performances in the Chunin exam we are beginning to negotiate A and B rank assassination and infiltration missions. You are currently our Chunin specialists for those types of missions, so do not be surprised if a check-in at one of Jiraiya's stations has a mission waiting for one of you."

With that concluded, they all bowed to Hokage and left to prepare to leave the village.

… **Outside the Main Gates, Konohagakure**

The Uzumaki Clan had an odd relationship with luck. For them, luck was as much a force of nature as gravity and chakra. And the clan had it in spades. In the days that Uzushiogakure were at its grandest, members of the clan had tried to quantify and control their luck in the same way that they had done with chakra. All attempts failed, funny enough due to various lucky or unlucky events. When the head of research's wife ended up pregnant with triplets, something that had happened to the previous two heads of research, all involved agreed that luck did not want to be quantified and controlled.

Luckily (giggle) for the Uzumaki Clan, Luck did not take their efforts personally and they retained their unnaturally high affinity with it. Since luck was neutral and could affect you both negatively or positively, it was debatable whether it was good or bad for the Clan to have a preferred status with the force.

For the branch families, luck was also a constant companion. In this case it had manifested itself in the journey of Uzusane Karui and her teammates on her way to "save" the last Uzumaki from the dishonorable village hidden in the leaves. The twists of luck were so extreme that even her, normally cynical, teammate, Omoi, noticed it.

A broken sail on one day that delayed their trip across a lake followed by a rogue wind that put them ahead again. A sprained ankle that led to the discovery of a bandit camp only to discover the ankle wasn't sprained and, finally, discovering that the bandits worked for the village they were terrorizing.

Then they met up with a large caravan of, suspiciously, red haired travelers, being escorted by gorgeous women with multiple tails. Karui had expected to find the Uzumaki she was looking for in the group but unlucky for her, he was not traveling with them. But she was able to meet some of her Uzusane cousins. Only her training and status as a Chunin kunoichi kept her emotions in check at the reunion.

When she was told, that the group was heading to reclaim Uzushiogakure, Karui was celebratory. In her mind it meant that, perhaps, Naruto already did not trust Konoha. She kept her thought to herself and was happy she had done that when one of the travelers let slip that "Uzukage-sama" was operating with the full support of the Hokage.

Calling Naruto "Uzukage" was a joke that had begun within the ranks of the reunited family, but none of team Samui knew that and took it seriously. Karui promised to visit "home" once her mission was complete and the three left to get answers from the new Uzukage. Samui and Omoi were both worried that a sixth major village was on the rise under their nose. Kumo had not participated in the attack on Uzushiogakure but had shared the concern about the powerful village.

Now the Uzu luck had struck again because as they reached the village they saw the target of their mission getting ready to leave. Eight people were at the gate. All of the people were easily identifiable based on the reports the Kumo team had read before leaving. Naruto and his team were obvious and matched the description of them that was now in the bingo books, except that they now had the red Uzumaki swirl, adopted by Konoha to denote Chunin rank, on the back of their shinobi outfits.

Also, even though his look had changed, Jiraiya was famous enough to remain easily recognizable. His look and that of the four women who positioned themselves around him was confirmation of the news that had been spreading across the elemental nations. "Hentaishindo" Omoi whispered in barely suppressed wonder and joy. A small shrine had opened in Kumo but most were still too embarrassed to be publicly seen at it. The fact that it was very well appointed and seemed flush with cash and resources suggested that it had more followers than were willing to admit it in the open.

The three Hadakashi were dressed as they were during the laughably quick battle outside the walls of Konoha during the invasion. Their breasts were exposed and their tight clothes hugged every curve leaving their bodies only slightly less exposed than their uncovered breasts. The "high priestess" wore "clothes" that barely met the definition. She was barefoot and in a parody of a kimono. The garment reached to the top of her thighs and no further and was made of what Samui called "gauze" that did the very minimum to hide her body.

Then the "high priestess" put her arms around Jiraiya's neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. When the older man took her round ass cheeks into his hands, Omoi groaned. The sound was one Samui hoped never to hear from her teammate's mouth ever again. Then the two groups moved in different directions at shinobi speed.

… **20 Miles From Konohagakure**

Team 7 had separated from "Team Pervert" as Naruto had dubbed them. He was disappointed at how little they were bothered by the joke title though he did appreciate the kiss the Yamanaka Hadakashi gave him. She squeezed his balls and told him that her baby cousin had recommended him. Naruto returned her affection by pinching her erect nipple between his fingers.

Not to be outdone his godfather chose that moment to gather Tomi into his arms. The small woman had no problem wrapping her hand around his neck and her legs around his waist, uncaring that her short kimono rose up to reveal her bare ass. The Yokubō no abatā took the small globes into his large hands and let his fingers "accidentally" slip when Naruto's eyes drifted toward her spread cheeks.

Naruto watched as the finger slipped into the woman's body and felt a tingle at how erotic her responding moan was. The thought of his godfather running with his finger buried, was a good one and he was sure the erotic power the man had tapped into would keep the civilian safe during their trip, despite being so exposed.

Team Pervert would meet them in Uzushiogakure after making two of their scheduled stops. Hinata was teasing Naruto about the fact that his huge harem of Kunoichi and Kitsune meant he didn't have time to gift the world with his sexual prowess even though so many hot women wanted him. "I promise to fuck a civilian or two when we get back and definitely two or three Yamanka kunoichis to prove you wrong" he cheekily responded to the giggling of his two loves.

They stopped and acted as If they were preparing to make camp when in fact they had all noticed that they were being followed and had chosen a place to confront their pursuers. When an attack didn't come after 10 minutes, the three Chunin turned toward where they knew the unidentified shinobi were and took battle stances.

"Hold, hold!" came a girl's voice and out of the tree line appeared two girls and a boy. The distinctive red hair and dark skin of one of the girls identified her as an Uzusane and Naruto thought he understood what was happening. The Kumo headbands, however, caused the Konohagakure shinobi to grow more alert.

"My name is Uzusane Karui and it is very important that I talk with you. Alone". All three Konaha shinobi recognized the bit of disdain that appeared in her eyes as she looked at Hinata and Sakura. Unwilling to have his loves insulted, Naruto through a barb back. "Hinata-hime, aren't I a little old and the wrong gender for Kumo's tastes."

Karui considered Kumogakure to be her salvation. The village had cared for her, loved her and raised her. She believed in her village. But she also knew what a group of high placed village leaders had been able to perpetrate against the Hyuga Clan. She had no regret and felt no shame that they had been able to claim the life of a Hyuga elder but not even she could justify what had been planned for a 3 year old Hinata had the initial plan worked.

The best argument she could make was that the little girl would not have been raped until she was old enough to bear children and perhaps by that time she would have participates willingly. As a kunoichi, she winced internally at her own attempted justification. The inability to maintain the moral high ground, however, caused her bristle.

It was Samui who stepped forward to calm Karui, after doing the same to Omoi. "She just wants to talk. You are her Clan head, are you not." Naruto nodded and replied "I will speak to her but if she intends to insult my future wives, then our conversation will not carry on for long. Clan or no clan." Samui squeezed Karui shoulder. The Uzu temper ran true in Karui, but also seemed present in the newly made Chunin. Samui was concerned that the meeting was already on shaky ground.

Deciding to show off a little bit, and because this meeting was technically Clan business, Naruto bit his thumb and called out "Kuchiyose no Jutsu". After the smoke cleared, Naruto was surrounded by all 10 of his Uzumaki wives. Without a word, all but Inume moved to form a large circle around the six shinobi. Sakura and Hinata positioned themselves about 10 paces back and lowered themselves to their knees as they were not Uzumaki wives.

Inume produced a low stool from somewhere and Naruto sat on it, before the boss summon of the kitsune kneeled next to him, all 20 of her tails dancing behind her. "I understand that Kumo has a bad history with Konoha but I would have preferred you had presented yourself with the others. Your clan were made welcome during the Chunin exams, were they not?" Naruto spoke.

This business was Karui's so Samui and Omoi stepped back to a position similar to Hinata and Sakura's and took a knee as well. The Kitsune would provide security and they had already bungled the meeting so worrying about safety at that point was pointless. At least that was the conclusion Samui thought as she looked at the nine mythical summons that surrounded her, all looking very dangerous.

Karui was able to take hold of her temper and looking around she realized that she had brought her friends into a situation that was not advantageous if the conversation turned violent. She knew the truth but the person in front of her did not and she could not continue to act as if he should behave like her when he did not have all the information.

She took a breath and kneeled in front of her Clan head. It took everything in her to maintain her composure and keep her temper in check for the next 45 minutes. She knew the "baka" in front of her was only doing it to test her and annoy her. Before he would let her discuss what she wanted, he forced her to tell him about her life. It was not a request she could ignore because it met with a strict interpretation of the etiquette for the situation she was in.

"It is your grand uncle that is the clan head that gave shelter to the Uzusane family." Naruto said looking at Karui's teammates when she was done. Samui replied "Hai, Uzukage-sama". The Konoha contingent hid their shock at the title she had used but stored it for later discussion. "Please tell Togashi-sama that he has my thanks and that I am an Fūinjutsu-Meijin no Uzumaki and that I shall complete a Fūin of his choice, for no cost, in gratitude from one clan to another.

Samui did not know what Fūinjutsu-Meijin no Uzumaki was but she could guess that it was a technique only known to Uzumaki and the Uzukage thought it was valuable to trade for granting members of his clan safe harbor. She knew how much the pace of the meeting was grating on her friend but she maintained proper formality in her reply. She did not like being manipulated into helping the "asshole" tweak her friend but she had no real choice.

When it was finally time, Karui mustered all her self-control to make her presentation. Calling Konoha by derogatory names would not help her to get the Uzukage to see the truth. She reminded herself that he had already sent the Clan back to Uzushiogakure and so probably already had mistrust in the leaf village. "Uzukage-sama, I do not know if you are aware of what happened the night Uzu fell or how much Konohagakure contributed to that fall."

She retold the story her grandmother had told her. That during the second shinobi war, Konoha came under attack and Uzu sent its warriors to honor its commitment to the leaf. "Half way to Konaha, the warriors that made up most of Uzu's shinobi corps learned that a massive attack force were moving to attack their home. But they did not turn back, they fulfilled their duty to the leaf and after repelling the attack on that village returned home, expecting the leaf to be behind them."

Naruto, of course, knew this story but it was clear that Karui and perhaps her mother and grandmother had promised to one day tell the story to someone like him and he did not interrupt her. The story was weighted toward suspicion of Konoha's motives, if not a belief that Konoha had betrayed Uzu.

The full story did not end when Karui's grandmother was forced to leave the falling village. And so did not include the, too late arrival, of Konoha forces. Naruto was surprised to hear that the attempted kidnapping of his mother was actually, to their mind, a rescue attempt and that it was not related in any way to the kidnap attempt on Hinata 12 years after.

When Karui was done, she was emotionally spent. Her mother had gone over the story with her before she left to make sure it communicated what happened to her grandmother correctly. Now she just hoped he understood and would separate the Clan from the village that had abandoned them

When she looked at his face her stomach did a flip. Something about the look on his face worried her that she was not going to like his response. Gone was the playfulness that he held for the entire time he made her adhere to the formalities of their meeting.

His next words made her almost cry. "Will you listen?"


	29. Uzukage

… **20 Miles From Konohagakure**

A clearing in the middle of the woods 20 miles outside the walls of the most powerful shinobi village in the elemental nations was not the most ideal location for tense discussions about the history and future of a shinobi clan. But the impromptu meeting between the Uzumaki Clan head and a daughter of the clan was not as atypical as one might imagine. The life of a shinobi was chaotic at the best of times and survival meant being prepared and adaptable to odd happenings.

Despite her worry about the direction her mission had taken, Uzusane Karui was an excellent kunoichi and was prepared for all the possible reactions to her tale, including being forced to listen to the version the leaf village had, no doubt, created. She was not surprised that the leaf had manufactured a story to cover their betrayal as it was the logical way to gain the loyalty of, first Uzumaki Kushina and then her son.

What did surprise the adopted Kumo nin was the story they had fabricated. It was harrowing and did not cast the village hidden in the leaves in a positive light. In fact, Konohagakure had accepted its failure to do its duty to Uzu and carried it as a stain on its honor. Further, its demand to have all Uzumakis turned over to them had been, according to the Clan head speaking in the middle of the clearing, one of the ways it sought to address that stain.

Naruto explained further to the shocked kunoichi and her two teammates that Konoha even wore its disgrace for all to see and that was why all Chunin vests carried a red Uzumaki swirl on the back to represent the blood that still stained the core of the Konoha shinobi forces. With a gesture, both Hinata and Sakura rose and turned to show that they both wore the red swirl, though with their backs turned it wasn't the swirl that had Omoi's attention.

Togashi Samui was a friend of Karui. But she was also the leader of her team and that was a position she had earned and one she took very seriously. Everything about the story she had heard fit the facts and she knew that none of the evidence that her friend had would contradict anything that the Uzukage believed. She would not say it to Karui, since she could see her friend's refusal to accept the story she was hearing, but based on what she knew, Uzumaki Naruto's story made more sense than the one she had grown up being told.

Konohagakure's reputation for loyalty around the elemental nations was only second to Uzushiogakure's and every report of the leaf village before and after the destruction of Uzushiogakure had held true to that reputation. The report that the man in front of them was the only son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato also spoke to the truthfulness of the story since Konoha had not done to Kushina what her own village had planned to do to the Hyuga princess. Why conspire to destroy the village, claim the last Uzumaki female and then not breed her continuously from the moment she was able.

Samui looked over the third member of her team, Omoi, and when their eyes met, she could see that he was drawing similar conclusions. But they both knew that they had a problem in the form of their third teammate. She had been raised from birth to believe that her family had been betrayed by the leaf and one discussion in the middle of the woods would not change that.

Luckily for them Naruto also recognized this fact and after telling his story began to weave a compromise. "Uzusane Karui, we will not resolve this today to either of our satisfaction. But what can be said is that I recognize that you have done your duty to Uzu by finding me and telling me what you have. Your faithfulness and the faithfulness of your mother and grandmother to Uzushiogakure is appreciated and shall be recognized by the Clan and by your branch of the family in our rebuilt home."

Karui felt her face and heart warm in happiness at the Uzukage's words. The smooth baritone of his voice and the tenderness in his eyes help dull the anger and desperation that had been driving her during the mission and brought some rationality back to her thoughts. Having him acknowledge the story of her family and take her words seriously was really the most she should have expected from approaching him as she had. His next words, though, gave her true comfort and hope in the future for her clan.

"The Uzumaki Clan and Uzushiogakure continues and will continue to have a close relationship with Konohagakure, but blind faith and ill preparedness is what brought us close to extinction. And that is not a risk we will take again. Our clan will not be suborning ourselves to Konohagakure and will continue to be an independent allied clan and village." Naruto said. "We are heading their now and I invite you to join me so you can see our rebuilt home."

Samui was impressed by the Chunin shinobi that she believed had been made the Uzukage. He also worried her. He was very charming and she could see him slowly drawing her friend into his thrall and she was unsure what to do about it. She didn't think her grand uncle had fully thought this through and was worried that the man had set their village up to lose a powerful kunoichi. If Karui joined Uzushiogakure, Samui did not know what that would mean for her position as a Kumo nin. Divided loyalties were not generally allowed in the shinobi world.

Naruto invited Karui and her team to join them since they were heading to Uzushiogakure. It would allow Karui to meet more members of her displaced family. Samui accepted on behalf of her team recognizing an opportunity to gather more information on the village before word of its return truly spread across the elemental nations. Samui saw when her friend started to feel conflicted about her love for Kumo and her desire to reconnect with her family.

The two friends looked at each other with a bit of trepidation for the future and what would happen to their friendship. Karui knew that Samui was planning to spy on Uzushiogakure and she knew that it would be expected of her to gather as much information about the new power as well to report back to the Raikage. "Do not worry, Karui" Naruto said, breaking her spiraling thoughts. "I know that the Raikage and your adopted home, will expect you to report on what you learn and you should do that."

Naruto's seemingly uncaring acceptance that the Kumo team would be spying on him for the duration was disconcerting but it allowed the Kumo team to put off the difficult discussion for later and so they all agreed. Naruto's Uzumaki wives each gave him a kiss before vanishing in puffs of smoke. As usual, Inume was the last to leave, giving Naruto the most passionate kiss of the bunch.

Naruto allowed himself a moment to be dazed by the ten, gorgeous fox-women that had just kissed him and the fact that half of them were now all carrying his child. He was brought back to the real world when the two human women that were also tied to him came to his side. It was really the smell of their arousal from seeing him act as a powerful clan head that brought him back but the reason was unimportant.

With a quick nod, the six shinobi lept into the trees and were off at shinobi speed.

… **Gates of Uzushiogakure, Uzu no Kuni**

Team Samui had been in constant silent communication the entire 5 day long journey to the rebuilt Uzushiogakure. Karui had put aside her worries about where her loyalty would eventually be and honored her commitment to the village that had raised and protected her. It was a fool's hope that Naruto would hear her story and immediately become a missing nin, and similarly it was unfathomable to her to abandon her own home.

The discussion had revolved around gathering information on the three Konoha Chunin they were traveling with as well as teasing out as much information about Uzushiogakure as they could. For their part, Naruto's team found the efforts of their fellow Chunin adorable. Soft gathering of information was a skill that combined seduction and interrogation and the Kumo shinobi were not that good at it. Perhaps their "innocent" probes would have worked on some but no one who had passed Anko's class would fall for it.

But Naruto and his girls had also been in constant silent communication. After deciphering the silent communication technique of their traveling companions, Naruto had informed his girls about how much information he wanted them to "let slip" and what information he wanted to tease out of them. The three of them were much better at the game than their companions and by the time they reached the gates of Uzushiogakure they knew practically everything about the three Kumo shinobi, their skill sets, and their mission goals.

…

Uzumaki Naruto was received in the rebuilt village with a huge fanfare. It started with 20 kitsune guards that met him when the large gates had opened. Naruto already knew who they were as they had been specially selected by Inume to serve as the village guard. They were dressed similarly to ANBU, except that all of them had fox masks. The really odd thing was that despite never having met two kitsune with the same color fur, the 20 guards in front of him all had the exact same red-orange and white fur ears sitting on the top of their head.

They were also missing their tales. A thing Naruto thought to himself should have been the first thing he noticed. He looked to Inume who gracefully strode out of the gates behind the 20 guards and saw the mischievous glint in her eyes that told him she was waiting for him to ask how the women that were kneeling before him had been masked.

He decided to not give her the satisfaction. He knew who made up the team and had met them all before. and could not deny the effectiveness of the anonymity provided by having the same color fur and not displaying how many tails each member of the guard had. So instead he stepped to the lead kneeling "ANBU" and said "Report".

"Uzukage-sama, every approved member of the Uzumaki Clan has arrived and reported in. They have been shown to their respective branch compounds and kitsune have been assigned to help them settle in. 14 un-approved people claiming to belong to one of the branch clans are being verified and one Iwagakure spy has been executed. He arrived claiming to be an Uzumaki."

Naruto's chakra spiked for a second, in anger. Iwagakure was doing its best to become a mortal enemy of his and he was beginning to wonder if, once he got strong enough, he would be forced to destroy the entire village. Shocked at where his mind had gone, he quickly calmed himself while worrying about what the brutal nature of his thoughts said about him.

"If any of the 14 are found to not be part of the clan, interrogate them. If they check out, offer them the opportunity to live in the village under the rules we have established." Naruto said after a moment and smiled when the masked kitsune replied "Hai, Uzukage". He still wanted to be the Hokage of Konoha but he was starting find an appeal in being the Uzukage of Uzushiogakure. He looked over to Sakura and had a brief fantasy about himself as the Uzukage and her as the Hokage and how sexy the fight between them could be.

Another moment passed and he dismissed his "elite guard" and smiled as the all shunshined away in a small swirl of water that fell to the ground and almost instantly evaporated. He was not aware Uzu had its own shunshin and he looked to Inume and saw her sparkling eyes. She had won their little battle of wills and they both knew it.

There was no way he could ignore that last bit and Inume knew that she would be able to demand much sexual satisfaction in exchange for teaching him the whirlpool shunshin. He could figure it out himself but that was not how the game was played. He sent her a smile that bared his pointy teeth and Inume forced down the spike in horniness that it elicited, determined to keep secret how easily he now controlled her desire.

That was when Jiraiya and his four companions arrived. Omoi was the only male on his team but he was not the only one overwhelmed by seeing the leadership of the Hentaishindo up close. Jiraiya, the Shodai Ero Sennin radiated sex and power and both Karui and Samui wet themselves from the spike in lust they felt in the man's presence. Omoi felt the wave of lust but his attention was on the three Hadakashi. In an instant the erotic pressure vanished but it still took the three Kumo nin a moment to regain their balance.

For Naruto and his two ladies, as well as Inume, they simply smiled at the arrival of the perverted sage. They had all felt his perverted aura but were not as affected by it as the visiting shinobi. The four shinobi in Jiraiya's group almost instantly focused on the Kumo nin but a small movement from Naruto caused them to settle. Then Naruto snapped his fingers and two of his "ANBU" appeared. That caused a raised eyebrow from Jiraiya but he and his companions stayed silent.

"Show Ero Sennin and his companions to guest quarters in the Uzumaki compound, please and I think our Kumo guests would appreciate quarters in the Uzusane compound." Naruto said and received a second raised eyebrow when the masked kitsune said "Hai, Uzukage." The kitsune lead them through the gate, but just as Jiraiya passed Naruto he whispered, "I cannot wait for this explanation". Hinata and Sakura heard him and both sniggered. Naruto did notice that one of the Hadakashi passed Sakura a note as she passed her and found himself also awaiting an explanation.

… **Guest Quarters, Uzusane Compound, Uzushiogakure, Uzu no Kuni**

The tension from earlier in the day returned as team Samui settled in their quarters. The "ANBU" had introduced Karui as an Uzusane and she found herself reconnecting with the people she had met a week previous. Her family. One young man was the grandson of her own grandmother's sister; a revelation that had the Karui in tears. Samui had watched as the group of people figured out where in the family tree Karui fit and Samui had not seen her friend as happy as when they had called her itoko-chan.

Eventually they had made it to their quarters and the three friends had settled into an uneasy silence. Finally, Karui said "I will not war against my clan but I intend to stay in Kumo." Her words were met by a brief silence and then a sharp nod from both Samui and Omoi. Nothing else was said but the tension had relieved itself. Inter-marriage between allied shinobi villages was relatively common and the stipulation Karui had made about her ancestral home was not unusual for someone in her basic situation.

The three shinobi got back to business and quietly began to exchange hand signals and other secret communications to discuss what they would do. They believed they had gotten some good information from the Uzukage and his girlfriends but they were sure they had not pried any secrets from them. Still, the next day would see the official re-opening of the village hidden in the whirlpools and the three agreed that after the tour they had received, there was not much more for them to discover. They would leave in the morning and report back to the Raikage.

… **Amegakure no Sato**

The young woman arrived as part of a caravan from earth country. For civilians around the elemental nations, such caravans were the most economical and safest means of travel through the roadways that connected the nations and the various villages and towns. Escorting caravans was considered a C-rank shinobi mission and was typically done by the minor shinobi villages.

This particular caravan was made up of 16 carriages that would carry 80 people on the 4 day journey from the capitol of Earth Country to the Capitol of Fire Country. The stop in Amegakure was typical for the transport company and was an economic boon for the rain village. First because it was their shinobi that escorted the caravan and secondly because the regular trips brought travelers with goods and services to trade.

When the young woman exited the carriage she had been traveling in with 4 other travelers, she stiffened for a moment at all the attention her appearance garnered. She had become used to that reaction from the beginning of her trip. The purpose of her trip was obvious to everyone who saw her and her bright red hair.

Word of the revival of the Uzumaki had hit every corner of the elemental nations as had the call made by the clan head for every surviving member to come to Konohagakure. Since her journey had started, word had begun to spread rapidly that not only had the clan returned but so had the small village that had been its home. The caravans that had left Konoha carrying the confirmed members of the clan under guard by the Kitsune had been told they could tell any they wanted where they were headed. The official announcement had just been made but word of mouth had been going for a few days.

Many of the civilians and shinobi in the rain village did not believe all the stories coming out of the land of fire and instead most just thought the village was trying to extend the reputation they had gained from their most recent victory. The Uzumaki may be coming back but the "rumors" about the re-opening of Uzushiogakure was likely a smoke screen or an incentive to try and get more of the roaming clan to come to Konoha.

One Amegakure Jōnin was sure of this. He had seen more red-heads roaming his streets in the previous 3 months than the village had seen in 3 generations. He knew how the leaf shinobi thought and the victory over their "greatest" traitor and three separate villages was exactly the type of event that would spur them to try to gather the "lost" Uzumaki back to themselves. They were that arrogant and easily spurred to action. He knew because he used to be one of them.

Rokushō Aoi had once been a Jōnin from Konoha. His betrayal of his village had come as a surprise to most and, even now, he doubted any in the village who remembered him understood why he had defected. In truth, he did not really know, either. He simply saw an opportunity and took it. The Raijin no Ken would make him powerful and so he took it. By the time he was torturing Morino Ibiki he had simply committed to the decisions he had made and discovered that he liked the feeling of having power over the people that had once been stronger and had power over him.

His triumph over the current T&I commander rated so high in his life that it had grown to a feeling of triumph over Konohagakure. A feeling he wanted to repeat. His inflated ego did not make him stupid, however, and he had been looking for an opportunity and the beautiful young woman with long straight red hair presented that opportunity.

She was the third red-head to pass through Amegakure since he had decided on "stealing" another "treasure" from Konohagakure, but was the first that he was convinced was an actual Uzumaki. A fellow Amegakure Jōnin had informed him that the previous two "Uzumaki" did not have the high chakra level typical for the clan. Something his cohort would know as the man was a skilled sensor.

But the woman who Aoi was stalking silently through his village was different. Her chakra levels were impressive. Even better was that it was clear that she had only had the very minimum in shinobi training. In fact, he would not be surprised if she had been trained by a samurai. She clearly had access to her chakra and was unconsciously using it, but she had no real training in its proper use, something he could tell by the way she moved.

His plan was simple. He would kidnap her, torture her till she broke and then kill her. Since his victory would not mean anything without acknowledgement, he would send notice of his capture of her to Konohagakure. He would send the notice to Ibiki. He did not know why he had latched on to that man for his games, but he had and over the years he had sent taunts about the fact that he had suffered no consequences for his betrayal of Konoha, his stealing of a priceless artifact or his torture of the man himself.

He would not sign his name, but he knew that Ibiki would know who had done it and he imagined Ibiki having to inform the Uzumaki about what had happened to one of his clan members. He also knew that without more evidence, the Hokage would not risk a war with Amegakure based on the suspicions of a Tokubetsu Jōnin. And if Ibiki pushed, the Sarutobi Hiruzen he remembered might actually hand over Ibiki to Amegakure if his past actions regarding the Hyuga was evidence of anything.

The girl was heading back to the caravan and Aoi positioned himself to snatch her up. The constant rain in the village made hiding the coming kidnapping easier and he had called in a favor and knew that none of the Ame ANBU were in the area. In truth it was a minor favor. It was known he intended to do something and the Amegakure leadership tacitly approved tweaking the noses of the larger villages as much as possible as long as they had plausible deniability.

…

Haruno Sakura was excited. True she had not been able to see her Naruto-kun achieve one of his dreams and officially re-open his ancestral home. She had also had to leave and missed relaxing for the week exploring that home. That also meant it had been almost a week since she had felt his beautiful, strong body on top of her stretching her open every time her chakra aided healing made all her orifices virginally tight again.

Thinking about it made her angry as her tsundere personality asserted itself more and more each day of her mission. The thought of Naruto taming her again gave her a constant thrill, but that was not why she was excited. She was excited because she had been chosen to execute the very first B-rank assassination mission. And it even had a secondary recovery component to it. It was also the first solo mission outside the village that any of her team had been given.

The mission briefing, she had received from Jiraiya had included a message from Asuma-sensei as well. Naruto and Hinata had been jealous and proud of her and had sent her off with a memorable night of pleasure. She calmed herself as she felt herself snatched up, smiling internally at how predictable her target had been and how careless he was in the way he had been talking about the migrating Uzumaki Clan hopefuls.

She would have killed him already if not for her secondary mission to recover the Raijin no Ken. He kept it in a security storage seal on his person at all times and Sakura was not the seal mistress that Hinata was and she definitely was not in the same class as Naruto, Uzumaki Sutairu Fuin no Masutā. The skill level she had achieved to seal Gaara was probably enough to break Aoi's seal but she did not enjoy sealing and so decided to execute her mission differently.

Her plan was to cause him to draw the weapon against her before killing him and taking it. Getting him to draw his weapon was very easy as reports said that he had grown dependent on the power the weapon had granted him. He used it in every battle he was in, even ones against opponents he could easily defeat without it. For those opponents he would "monologue" about the history of the weapon and how he had stolen the "great treasure" from Konoha.

She was pretty sure that she had the power and skill to openly challenge Aoi in the middle of Amegakure, defeat him and then defeat the Ame nin, ANBU included, that would likely appear to try and stop her. She was interested in testing herself in that way but the mission parameters required a "close to 0" political impact and a Konoha shinobi attacking a Ame shinobi in the middle of Amegakure no Sato, even if he was a Konoha missing nin, would be anything but a "close to 0" on the political impact scale.

So, she had arranged for the missing nin to do the work for her. His reaction to her higher than normal chakra levels, that she was allowing to be detectable, plus her apparent lack of shinobi skill and the beautiful face she had modeled after a combination of Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto, was very predictable. And as suspected, he had started to tail her after she had traveled a block from the caravan. By the second block, she was able to sense that there were no shinobi, besides him within 6 blocks of her.

Her kidnapping was quick. That was the only good thing she could say about it. He had tied her up but she had seen better restraints done by second rate bandits. He had not even gagged her until she started screaming, something she did only to maintain her cover. And even though the on-duty shinobi were "helping" him, he still should have made some attempt at being discreet. He was carrying her openly and her inner tsundere was disgusted at the weak, pathetic man carrying her into one of the Ame training grounds.

… **Haruna Sakura vs. Rokushō Aoi**

Sakura's plan had been to wait until the man had dumped her to use her strength to break free, but by the time they were approaching the small cottage he intended to use, her disgust with the man's abilities had left her in a controlled rage. So instead she spiked her chakra and when the "Jōnin" paused in surprise, she leapt off his shoulder, broke her bonds in midair and flipped landing in front of him with a scowl on her face.

Despite the fact that her movements obviously showed her to be a kunoichi, the man looked at her with confused eyes and Sakura's temper exploded at him. "Oh Kami, are you a moron. I. am. a. kunoichi." She said and then sighed exasperated when he finally got it and his face went from confused to arrogant. "He might be worse than the Uchiha" she mumbled.

The fact that the kunoichi seemed to have so little respect for him angered Aoi greatly and he quickly released the seal holding the Raijin no Ken. When it activated and started to glow with lightning chakra he looked at her with sinister intent, but was surprised to see her unimpressed by both him and his weapon.

Aoi did not know who this girl was, or why she was after him. She did not seem like a hunter nin, which wasn't surprising as he was barely a C-ranked missing nin, protected by a ninja village, so did not make for an ideal target. Hunter-nin were typically ANBU on special assignment and as she fumed, he was pretty sure, she was no ANBU.

Sakura calmed herself and then spoke. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I am a Chunin of Konoha and you have the pleasure of being my first B-rank assassination mission." She smiled at the emotions that appeared on her opponents face as he processed her words. She could see the shock that she, a Chunin, was attacking him, a Jōnin. More shock that her presence was sanctioned. Confusion about the existence of B-rank assassination missions. Offense that his death had only been valued as an B-rank assignment.

Sakura was a bit surprised at what happened next. She expected him to monologue. Either about her youthfulness, anger that his death order was only B-ranked, or droning on about the sword he carried. It was how the reports on him had portrayed him. Instead he attacked. For a moment she considered that intelligence on him had been wrong. But his slowly developing attack and the pathetic job he had done kidnapping her confirmed that the situation had simply pressed all his buttons.

He made a diagonal slash at her when he arrived and she danced around it. He had over extended and so she stepped on his ankle and broke it, before jumping away and looking at him. The abilities of the sword were well known and was weak against Taijutsu and speed. It could cut through chakra and s-ranked offensive jutsu as well as having telekinetic abilities and, of course, the ability to channel and direct lighting.

Sakura was further disgusted that it only took high Genin speed to stay ahead of the supposed Jōnin's attempts to capture her in one of the powerful sword's lightning attacks, as long as she didn't attack him directly. She supposed she should take into account that she had shattered the fool's ankle in the opening moves of the fight but she didn't want to.

For his part, Aoi was angry. The "Sword of the Thunder God" was supposed to make him unbeatable. That had always been an exaggeration and the sword was keeping him from suffering an instant defeat by limiting the girl in front of him to Taijutsu as it was able to deflect or cut through any other jutsu. It had even disrupted a genjutsu that Sakura had tried to sneak unto him.

In truth the sword had been aiding him more than he would appreciate. His attacks were limited due to his own lacking skill but the sword enhanced his ability to defend by an order of magnitude. The normal flow of information for a reaction, is for first the brain to recognize the action it is to react to, figure out a response, transmit that response to the appropriate muscle groups, and then the body would respond. Masters of a martial art develop muscle memory through training that allowed their body to react without needing the brain to process what was happening.

Aoi was not a master of kenjutsu. In fact, he had achieved the rank of Tokubetsu Jōnin while in the leaf by doing the bare minimum and was not a true master of any martial form. He had been promoted to full Jōnin when he joined Amegakure purely as an incentive from the smaller village to acquire the missing nin.

Luckily for Sakura's target, the Raijin no Ken had the ability to enhance the reaction time of its wielder. It would make a grand master of kenjutsu, virtually invincible, a master into a grand master, and a novice into a master. Aoi attacks were limited to his basic sword skills but his defense, aided by the sword was polished and impressive.

None of this mattered against the powerhouse that was Haruno Sakura. Her increased strength and durability plus her speed allowed her to step through the perfect defense of the sword and strike the improper grip Aoi was using causing his primary defense to fly away from him. Aoi looked at her in shock. She had a slice down her arm and he could see her muscles twitching from the electric shock but what should have been a devastating injury did little to slow the "bitch" in front of him and now he was disarmed.

He tried to fight. He was a Jōnin after all, but without his sword he was defenseless against the kunoichi. Each moment brought more and more pain as Sakura shattered his collar bone, broke his other ankle, and cut open the arm he usually wielded the sword in, all the way to the bone. He did not know why he had not already died from the gruesome injury but the pain had sapped all his energy and he was left kneeling in the middle of the clearing, his brain unable to think clearly.

Over the next two hours, Sakura applied every torture to the defeated shinobi that he had done to Morino Ibiki and a few of her own. That was also a part of the mission parameters, added by Anko as a "bonus" objective. Ibiki's torture had not broken him and he had not only survived and escaped but had become a better shinobi because of the experience. Aoi' s was not so resilient and his mind broke. Still Sakura did not stop till the broken man could not even whimper any longer.

She removed his bloody head and burned his body. The head went into one storage seal and the recovered Raijin no Ken went into another. With a happy smile Sakura finally released the henge before she vanished into the woods and made her way to her rendezvous with Naruto and Hinata.

… **Haruna Sakura Wins**

… **Fatality**


	30. Oh Itachi, You Poor Thing

… **Konohagakure no Sato**

Many say the Uchiha are cursed with madness. That their dōjutsu allows them to see into the spiritual world and that viewing what is clearly forbidden for mortal eyes, drives them insane. The evidence for that belief is admirable and hard to challenge. Generation after generation, an Uchiha has risen in power until they do something insane or fall into some type of madness. It was true for the first Uchiha, Indra, and it is true for the two remaining Uchiha, the brothers Itachi and Sasuke

The Uchiha are not cursed with madness. Cynical people are more likely to say they are cursed with melodrama. In truth, the Uchiha have a tendency to be ruled by their emotions as well as having obsessive natures and arrogance beyond reason; a dangerous combination for anyone but more so for a clan with a powerful kekkei genkai. Whether that tendency is due to their nature or a biproduct of the lives they live is a question that might never see an answer.

What is undeniable is that the latest example of the Uchiha "curse" has been the most devastating, reducing the clan down to only two members. A younger brother whose obsession has led to having his power stripped from him and an older brother whose obsession doomed the younger to be plagued by all the worst traits and tendencies of the Uchiha clan as well as being the instrument of the family's destruction.

The older brother, Uchiha Itachi, is the worst victim (or perpetrator) of the family curse ever. Most would assign that title to his younger brother but that is only because Itachi was "blessed" with the ability to completely hide his emotions. Completely and absolutely ruled by his emotion, Uchiha Itachi was never expressive. The few times he allowed his true emotion to show were to people on the verge of death. His best friend Shisui saw it before he killed himself and his mother and father saw it before he took their lives.

One person lived that had seen all the raw emotion that swirled inside the missing nin. Sasuke saw it right after his brother had tortured him. But the torture had been successful and Sasuke ignored it within his memory thinking it his imagination. No one that had ever met Uchiha Itachi would suspect the storm of emotion, self-recrimination, guilt and anger that lived inside him; festering. The only clue to the lie of his stoicism would be if you could hear the plan he had developed in dealing with his family and his brother.

After learning that his equally over dramatic, entitled family, led by his father, had decided to institute a coup against Konoha, he and his best friend and partner had dutifully reported it to their superiors. After the subsequent suicide of Shisui, whose Mangekyō Sharingan was the "only remaining hope" to save his clan, he was ordered, by Shimura Danzō, to kill his entire clan. He had not argued against the order, sought out confirmation or council, he had simple accepted it as the best option.

Discovering a supposedly dead Uchiha on a similar mission was not a red flag for him and so he and a stranger he had just met, worked together to kill his entire family, except his brother. High on his own drama he had decided that his brother must kill him and to get him on that path he chose to mentally scar the young boy and make the trauma permanent by torturing him with his awakened advanced dōjutsu.

For almost a decade Itachi had lived in a depressing dark place of his own making refusing to accept that he preferred it to peace and happiness. And refusing to acknowledge the ridiculousness of his plan. Until today. Today was the day he and his partner in Akatsuki, Hoshigaki Kisame, had come to Konohagakure to "acquire" the nine-tailed fox jinchūriki for the beginning of Pain's master plan.

They had gotten word about the failed invasion and the jinchūriki's attempt to restart his clan. Itachi even knew about the discovery of the Uzu treasure, the kitsune contract and the rebuilding of Uzushiogakure. What he was not aware of and the thing that had ground his mind to a halt was that his brother's power had been sealed. He had much to think about as he and his partner left Konoha on the trail of Uzumaki Naruto.

… **Flashback**

The information was much harder to get than it should have been and neither Itachi nor Kisame had been able to find a hole in the village defenses to exploit. Frustrated and allowing his mask to slip, Itachi decided to just walk into the village. Kisame thought it was a spectacular idea because he was sure it would end in a fight and even though he cared little for melodrama, he loved death and destruction. And the psychopath nicknamed the "tailed beast with no tail" was very confident in his ability to deal out death and destruction.

They presented themselves as traveling Ronan interested in finding an inn for the night to the eternal Chunin at the gate and were surprised to find themselves immediately facing Sarutobi Asuma, his partner and Hatake Kakashi. Kisame was eager for the fight that was about to happen, but Itachi was concerned about the efficiency of the response. Konoha may have survived Orochimaru's invasion attempt but Akatsuki was still under the impression that the village hidden in the leaves was weak and generally complacent.

Itachi received a further surprise when Kakashi indicated, through gestures he should not have known, that the "undercover" missing nin was to follow him for a debrief. "I shall handle the 'copy nin', do you think you can handle the 'smoker' and his pet", Itachi said to his partner dispassionately. Still blind to the clues, Kisame gave a smile with his pointed teeth and nodded in excitement.

Itachi and Kakashi charged each other and their fight drifted away from the shark like man and the Kōgubuki pair.

 **Uchiha Itachi vs. Hatake Kakashi**

As with most shinobi fights conducted in the open, the two combatants started with taijutsu to feel out the opponent's skill. Itachi was supremely confident in his skill. So much so that he took the opportunity to demonstrate the true purpose of his trip to the village, since he already knew Naruto was not present. He wanted to remind the village leaders of his power and that should his brother be hurt before he could avenge their clan, he would unleash its full might against the village.

Unfortunately for the uniformed Uchiha, Hatake was matching the Uchiha for speed and power. Itachi eyes widened in surprise when he realized that his attempt to show that he was only using a fraction of his ability was failing and before long Itachi was using his full ability in the fight against the copy nin. Fear of what having Kakashi as an instrument of the villages would mean for his brother caused the temperamental, obsessive Uchiha to forget the reasons they had separated from Kisame and Itachi committed to killing Kakashi in a wild belief that he needed to do it to protect his brother.

Unfortunately for the true Uchiha teme, Kakashi also had a secondary mission. He wanted Uchiha Itachi to understand that Konoha was stronger than it has ever been and that with the improved seal and Kakashi's reaffirmed commitment to his training and the peace he found within Hentaishindo that the one-eyed shinobi was more than a match for the s-class missing nin.

With both wielding sharingan the fight was almost a ballet of avoided strikes and then the ninjutsu started to fly. Fire release, Water release, Earth release and wind release jutsu flew back and forth tearing up the training ground Kakashi had led the "missing nin" to. Finally, Itachi decided to use his most potent weapon and tried to capture Kakashi in his Tsukuyomi. He would never know if the technique would work on his opponent, because almost the minute the thought entered his mind, an explosion of power landed between them and blew them apart.

They both landed on their feet, Kakashi looking unsurprised and unbothered while Itachi looked wary of whatever could release so much power and still remain invisible to his senses. Then the answer appeared to him in the form of the Sandaime Hokage, looking more powerful than Itachi had ever seen him, more powerful than even the history reported about the "second god of shinobi". The man looked at him and for once the famed Uchiha arrogance in Itachi cracked and so he only nodded when the powerhouse said to him "Let's talk."

… **Fight Interrupted**

…Elsewhere

… **Hoshigaki Kisame with Samehada vs. Sarutobi Asuma with Haku**

Kisame was surprised that Itachi had allowed himself to be separated, but he didn't care. Samehada was buzzing in joy on his back and he could feel the large well of chakra of his opponent. "Samehada will eat well today" Kisame announced with joy before charging Asuma while drawing the famed sword from his back.

Unknown to everyone, Samehada was able to sense Asuma's true chakra level and desperately wanted to be his sword. The sword could also tell that the master it thought it deserved already had a weapon in the girl that stood next to him. So it made a decision. It had to defeat the other weapon to show the chakra powerhouse that he should wield the sentient sword and abandon the girl pretending to be one.

Kisame was shocked to his core when his prized sword lept from his hand and streaked toward the thin girl standing next to his main target. He knew his sword was sentient but it had never overruled his will before. Kisame was also confused because Samehada's target was the kunoichi and you didn't have to be a sensor to know she had a lot less chakra than her partner.

Kisame had heard of Hentaishindo and had even heard of the Kōgubuki, but he had not paid it much attention considering it nonsense. So, he did not understand the relationship between the two shinobi he was facing, and he definitely did not know that the relationship was the reason his sword had overruled him to attack the girl. Like Itachi, he did not know about how strong Konoha had become and so, gave little thought to the actions of his sword. He had two leaf nin to kill and his sword had decided to handle one of them so he decided to go with it.

...With Samehada and Haku

Samehada broke itself free of its wrappings and charged the calm kunoichi. Haku glanced at Asuma, determined to not be as disobedient a weapon as the one charging her. A flutter of pride and joy ran though her at the smile he gave her as he nodded to give her permission to engage the "rogue" weapon. This fight was like a dream come true to her. She was a tool, a weapon, an extension of her master's will and she was facing an actual sword in combat.

The seven swords of the hidden mist were legendary in the elemental nations, but more than that Haku knew all about them. Her lessons on what they were and who wielded them started with Momochi Zabuza but with her new wielder that had become an in-depth study of each of the seven swords, and all the shinobi who had ever wielded them. The legendary sentient sword she was now facing had been especially interesting to her.

Samehada was a sword in name only. It had no blade or edge and would be better described as a club or studded mace. Haku had joked that the "Six Swordsman and a Guy with a Kanabō of the Hidden Mist" didn't have the proper ring to it when Asuma had idly asked why they called the weapon a sword. The two of them had laughed heartily over that one.

The club was large and made out of some alloy of chakra metal and other mystery elements lost to history. It was shaped like a cross between a shark and blowfish. It had a wide mouth with sharp pointed shark teeth and was covered with "scales" that were equally as sharp. Like a blowfish, the "sword" could increase its size by at least 3 times and stand its pointed "scales" up to make its entire "body" very dangerous.

Samehada's most well known ability was that it could absorb chakra from either a person or any jutsu released around it. Less well known was that it could fly through the air as if swimming in water and its self-awareness. The most common belief Haku had found in her research was that the sword maker had somehow captured and sealed an oni within the weapon during the manufacturing process.

Haku was well prepared for the fight she was about to have though never in her wildest imagination had she ever believed that the fight against this swordsman of the mist would involve her fighting the sword independently of her master's fight with Kisame. She danced around the "shark-like" sword as it swam around her trying to bite her and drain her chakra. She would have to add to the research that Samehada was a dangerous weapon but acting on its own it, ironically, did not have very good kenjutsu skill, striking at her like an animal and not with the precision of a sword.

On its own Samehada was turning out to be more like a ninken than a sword and Haku was happy to demonstrate the difference between a animal partner and a weapon of a master's will. Unlike Kisame, she knew what the sword wanted. It wanted to replace her. Any weapon worth anything would want to be in her place, but it wasn't a position she was willing to relinquish. Especially to a weapon she was finding inferior.

Her style was very aggressive and powerful for someone that seemed small but she had trained well and was aided by her ice release kekkei genkai. A micro second before each block or strike, ice would form over the point of contact on her body strengthening or sharpening as necessary. She was also able to create ice sinbon that she used to deflect the sword off course. Samehada was shocked at the fact that she had already removed four of its pointed scales and it had yet to be able to even taste her chakra.

Then, her left hand sped through a series of seals and Samehada found itself inside of Haku's dome of demonic ice mirrors. Unused to having to actually fight on its own or having to do more than stealing chakra, Samehada found itself worrying when it could not drain chakra from the mirror technique nor could it get a bite of the fast moving kunoichi.

Then the sword felt something it had never felt before when a sin bon, moving fast enough to leave a small crack of sound behind it shattered yet another of its scales. The feeling was fear. Samehada had no idea if it could "die" but it was trapped and wanted to be back in the hands of Kisame before all of its scales were removed. As it was it would need to drain an academy level shinobi to repair itself quickly.

…With Kisame and Asuma.

Kisame did not care about Konoha and in truth he found all the hidden villages, including his own, to be weak. He did keep up to date with all the latest bingo books where the strong were truly represented. Both to read any updates to his own lengthy entry and also to make himself familiar with any shinobi that were worth his time to kill. Since the man in front of him had been part of the team responsible for killing a fellow swordsman of the mist, and the loss of one of the seven swords of Kiri, he was definitely aware of who he was and he definitely wanted to kill him.

"Sarutobi Asuma. Do you know that you have the highest bounty ever for someone who has done so little? It makes me wonder if daddy didn't pay to increase your reputation after one of your Genin had to kill Zabuza for you." Kisame taunted and then burst out laughing at his own joke. Asuma smiled at the shark toothed S-class nin. He no longer felt burdened by his father's reputation knowing that he had surpassed his father and defeated him in a secret battle no one, not even the esteemed Hokage, would ever know of.

It was fitting, in Asuma's mind, that he faced this particular shinobi. Kisame was the first to undergo the chakra transfer procedure that had changed Asuma's life. Asuma wanted the shinobi in front of him dead. It would be a service to the world as the man was a psychopath, a distinction with extra meaning in a world of shinobi and supernatural powers. But Asuma wanted him dead because outside of his own circle the man represented a loose end in regards to the seal that had given him his power.

Skipping the normal "getting to know you" taijutsu, Kisame went with a "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Release: Great Waterfall Jutsu)" which shot a large swirling mass of water at Asuma. Asuma responded by drawing his trench knives and making a wind powered slice at the approaching attack, slicing it in half and sending the cutting wind toward Kisame who dodged it. But not before a small cut appeared on his cheek.

Kisame was impressed. He had never held Zabuza in high regard and so didn't give much respect to the man's killers. However, the shinobi in front of him had been able to use a wind jutsu to cut through his moderately powered Great Waterfall Jutsu. Then a second and a third cut appeared on his skin and as each portion of flesh opened up on his body, the normally confident Akatsuki member went from impressed to angry and surprised. He had no idea how all the cuts had appeared on him, but found it a bit patronizing that the man in front of him had that ability an instead of killing him had simply gave him a few scratches.

Furious Kisame charged in with his taijutsu, a style that incorporated bite and clawing attacks. His speed was impressive and greater than some other S-class shinobi, but not greater than Asuma who had used his massive increase in chakra to train his whole body and who, even before acquiring 8-tails worth of chakra reserves, was a member of the Shugonin Jūnishi (12 guardian ninja).

Kisame's eyes widened when Asuma side stepped his charge so in response the missing nin planted his foot and spun in a kick that was so fast it seemed like a shunshin. And missed. He followed up with a flurry of clawed strikes and attempted bites, and the Konoha Jōnin weathered the storm with ease. His own speed was more than a match for Kisame, but even when the experienced Akatsuki member got him out of position, Kazetatsu, his elemental jutsu hidden in the wind, would nudge him away from a strike or block the strike.

To Kisame it seemed like Asuma had an unimaginable control of his Fūton no Jutsu and was able to wield it with the same precision and skill as a master of kenjutsu, like himself, with their sword. To be one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, it was required that he be a grand master with a sword but he had rarely used Samehada, purely as a sword and he found himself missing having it to wield against the wind user. That was when Kisame noticed that not only was the Konoha shinobi not striking back at him, he was smiling at him as if his efforts were amusing to the newest addition to the bingo books.

It had been years since someone dared played with him and it was a greater strike to his pride than any words he could think of to use against the Hokage's son. He had just decided to give the leaf nin a slow, painful, especially gruesome and bloody death, in "gratitude" of the "respect" he had been shown when Itachi reappeared striking the dome of mirrors that Kisame had not noticed had his sword trapped and shattering it.

A free Samehada ran back to Kisame's hands and the shark toothed man smiled a feral grin, slipping easily into an advance kenjutsu stance. Before he could finish off the Sarutobi, however, Itachi announced that they were leaving before more reinforcements arrived because their mission was not to start a war between Konoha and Akatsuki. Even Kisame recognized the message that Konoha somehow knew about Akatsuki, and they needed to report that. Disappointed that he didn't kill Asuma but still arrogantly confident in his, supposed, greater power and ability, Kisame left with Itachi in body flickers.

… **Fight Interrupted**

… **End Flashback**

Uchiha Itachi had been allowed to briefly see Sasuke, though his brother was not made aware that he was there. Seeing his brother's broken look had caused Itachi to become angry and only the Hokage's powerful presence kept him in line. He left with a letter that would fundamentally destroy all his justifications and send him deeper into his personal hell of guilt and self-recrimination, where he was most happy. The only thing that remained the same was Itachi's loyalty to Konoha.

… **Meitetsu Inn, Jang Hui, Hi no Kuni**

Sakura stretched her body out and sighed in absolute contentment. The reunion between her and her two lovers could not have been better if she had spent weeks to plan it herself. As per their plan they had rendezvoused in a small town south of Konohagakure and on the trail of Tsunade of the Sannin. Her own mission had been a success and in the three days it took her to reach the town she had felt herself slipping into her confrontational personality.

Her absolute and total trust and faith in Naruto and his ability to "save" her from herself allowed her to revel in the pride and confidence that came with the arrogance of that side of her because she knew he would reign her back in and that she would enjoy it more than she did dwelling in this side of her being.

Even with all her faith in Naruto she had been surprised at how rough he had been with her when they met up. After delivering her mission report along with the famed sword to Jiraiya, Naruto had dragged her back to their hotel room and she only had time to notice a naked Hinata on the bed and silencing seals on the walls before he had ripped the clothes from her body.

What followed was nearly 30 hours of passionate, near violent love making. Naruto and then Hinata had claimed her body totally. She had not gone easily, fighting tooth and nail against her taming and they had practically destroyed the room but in the end she was on her back screaming in pleasure, then on her knees then tied to the bed, then wrapped up in ninja wire. She had welts on her back from a whip that she didn't know Hinata owned and bruises on her neck and breast in the shape of Naruto's hands.

The last two hours, they had reverted to more gentile love making as her tsundere personality had finally retreated. She felt a hand caress her breast and a second hand trailing up her thigh and she opened her eyes to see Hinata and Naruto to either side of her. "I love you both" she said emotionally. Hinata returned her declaration with one of her own, but Naruto kissed her lips first, telling her with his action how deep his feeling for her was.

They still had a few hours before they had to meet up with Jiraiya to continue the mission to find Tsunade, so they were surprised to feel a proximity seal breached. Two persons with high chakra levels were approaching their door. With a sigh of irritation, the three Chunin rose out of the bed and got dressed in preparation for the unexpected arrivals. Whoever was coming was moving slowly, so Naruto took a moment to watch the naked forms of his two fiancées as they dressed. The two girls happily using multiple "seduction in dressing" techniques to reward their man for the fabulous night they had shared.

… **Outside Room 307, Meitetsu Inn, Jang Hui, Hi no Kuni**

Itachi and Kisame strolled up to the room containing the jinchūriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko. To passers-by, even shinobi (had they been present) the two men looked dangerous but completely calm and unbothered by whatever task they were meant to do. For many they had faced before, the near bored attitude that they carried even when on the cusp of a fight to the death was very unnerving.

On the inside, however, the two men's mind were like a storm. Emotions, desires, questions all fought for supremacy. Kisame's mind was a boiling pot of anger. As was the way of the elemental nations, word of his confrontation with Sarutobi Asuma had reached as far as Mizu no Kuni before they had even reached Jang Hui and they were moving at shinobi speed, Jōnin shinobi speed. No one considered it a defeat for the swordsman but standing toe-to toe with him had validated Asuma and word was he was to receive the coveted "flee on site" distinction in the next weeks bingo books.

The man who considered himself a monster knew he could not kill the Jōnin's favorite student as that was the target of their mission for Akatsuki and the boy was needed alive, but he was eager to punish and planned to drain the two kunoichi of all their chakra before flaying their flesh from their bones and leaving the bodies in one of the many sexually depraved poses he liked, for their sensei to find. He also planned to remove the arms and legs of the jinchūriki since limbs were not needed for what Pain had planned.

Next to the "Tailed Beast with no Tail", Itachi's emotions where even more in turmoil. The letter he got from the Hokage had fully explained the situation that led to his little brother having his power sealed. It pulled no punches in laying the blame at the feet of the undercover Uchiha and seeing it laid out in excruciating detail, he found it harder and harder to justify within himself what he had done to his brother.

He had tried to tell himself that he had set his brother on the right path to become strong enough to defeat him but one statement within the letter had exploded all of his justifications. "it is not your brother's responsibility to kill you. If you feel so strongly that you are a monster for what you have done, then you should have done the honorable thing and kill yourself as Kakashi's father did. It is selfish of you to try to force your brother into that role and in seeking that out you have made him the worst victim of that horrible night. Especially as he might have been the most innocent."

He had read the letter three times before burning it. And had hid behind his anger and despair to insulate himself from the truth, but each moment made that more and more difficult and the only justification he still had was that his brother could never achieve the higher levels of the sharingan without the tragic road he had put him on. But he could not find justification for demanding that those levels be achieved. The prize for achieving the Mangekyō Sharingan is blindness and suffering. And in his case was leading to his death.

He had manipulated his brother and expected him to grow into an avenger and a hero. Instead he was broken and filled with hatred and despair and he was the only one to blame. He hoped that the village that he loved could protect Sasuke where he had failed. It was clearly strong enough now, if Kakashi, Asuma and the Hokage where any measure.

Itachi had been sent off with a refined mission. One that would likely lead to his death. No longer was he to simply gather information, but he was to begin to disrupt plans. He was sure he would be found out before his mission was over and decided as he reached Naruto's door that he would face his justice fighting for Konoha and leave his brother to find his own way.


	31. The Third Shatterpoint

… **307, Meitetsu Inn, Jang Hui, Hi no Kuni**

Knock…Knock…Knock.

The plan was simple. Knock on the door and promise to leave the two kunoichi unharmed if the brat came willingly. Once the kid gives up, shop off his legs and arms and then have some "fun" with the girls. He would suck the chakra from each girl from the inside by violating them with Samehada. The Pinkette in her pussy and the Hyuga, in her ass. The twisted monster was eager to see if they would die from chakra loss or blood loss first.

Itachi knew the plan was to incapacitate Naruto and kill Hinata and Sakura but did not know how depraved his partner had intended to be in accomplishing that. He had been assured that the three newly minted Chunin would be able to handle themselves and, besides, they had Jiraiya close at hand to step in if things went bad.

Things did not seem to be working out that way and already Itachi was concerned. He had sent a beautiful woman under a genjutsu to the Ero-Sennin as a distraction and had been stunned to see how fully the man had seemed to fall for it, despite having four gorgeous women already at his beck and call. Three of whom were already topless and one who might as well be naked. Itachi's observational skills were second to none and he was absolutely sure the perverted man was not acting when he allowed himself to be pulled away.

He was equally distraught to see that instead of splitting off to guard or at least accompany the younger members of the group, all of the Hadakashi had followed Jiraiya. Truthfully, it all made sense and Itachi was allowing his concern to cloud his mind. From the perspective of the team, there was no reason to expect two s-class missing nin to be targeting Naruto and his teammates and as the three of them were Chunin, there should be no need to protect them.

Itachi's mind was brought back when he heard someone within the room approach the door. The door opened, and they were faced with a truly unimpressed Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. "Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi. Wow, two s-class missing nin for little old me." He drawled. Then a feminine voice from inside the room yelled "Hey!" and Naruto replied with, "Sorry, little old us." Kisame was about to chuckle at the boy's humorous stalling tactic when Naruto said, "Hey, Kisame, Sensei says the next time, he's keeping the sword. Something about not returning them to Kiri till he has the whole set."

Any fan of video games would wonder if Kami had intentionally nerfed all s-class shinobi to force them to not take suspected weaker opponents seriously. Traps that couldn't catch mice seemed to work perfectly against them if set by a Chunin or lower. In this case, it was obvious that Naruto was trying to bait the Kiri swordsman, and Itachi didn't even have to look over to know that the shark-man would fall for it.

With a growl of anger Kisame dashed into the room, grabbed Naruto by the neck and slammed him against the wall opposite the door. He was about to explain in detail, what he planned to do to the brat and his two kunoichi when out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the three teens standing on the balcony. In a world of henge no jutsu and bunshin no jutsu, surprise should have been the last expression on the face of Kisame. But it was there. Then the reason became clear when the Bunshin Daibakuha set off.

Kisame was lucky. Not because Naruto had not taken him seriously. That was something the "Uzukage" would never do. The missing nin was lucky because Naruto respected, honored and cherished life. The size of the explosion it would have taken to end him, would also had snuffed out the life of at least 15 innocents in the inn, and that was something Naruto would never do. What he did was make the explosion as powerful, compact and directed as possible and while Kisame would live, he was definitely injured.

The now furious ninja took hold of Samehada and drew chakra into himself to heal his injuries. Once his cuts had closed and the largest of his bruises had evaporated, he leapt at the three giggling Chunin determined to just end them but found his sword strike blocked by a waif of a girl holding an ice needle. His mind was not quick enough to wonder how she got that close to him without him noticing when a foot struck him in the back and sent him past his target and over the balcony.

Naruto and his two fiancés watched as Asuma leapt after the Kiri missing nin with Haku following close behind. Happy that his sensei will likely claim the life a swordsman of the mist, like he had, Naruto turns to the doorway where Itachi was still standing, only with Jiraiya now standing next to him. The two were talking in quick clipped words. Hinata whispered to them that she suspected that there was more to Itachi and the Uchiha massacre than they knew because Jiraiya and Itachi were speaking like a spy and spy master, not like enemies.

Figuring that Jiraiya could handle himself with Itachi and agreeing that whatever was going on between the two, a fight was not about to start, Naruto moved back to the balcony to watch his sensei take on the "Tailed Beast with No Tail" and left explanations for later.

… **Hoshigaki Kisame with Samehada vs. Sarutobi Asuma with Haku, Round 2**

Kisame had a victorious smirk on his face. He had righted himself in time to control his fall from the third floor of the inn but disguised it to appear as if he was still out of it. The Jōnin he had left alive in Konoha had foolishly followed him. He was sure Itachi would be able to grab the boy while he handled this fight and only hoped the Sannin didn't get his head out of that chick's tits before he had a chance to humiliate and kill the shinobi in front of him.

He felt his foolhardy pursuer diving toward him and spun and caught him in the shoulder with Samehada. His sword's jaws clamped on and began to drain chakra. He was absorbing it through his grip on the sword and bringing himself back to full health. He looked into Asuma's eyes eager to see fear from his quickly diminishing reserves and instead saw a smiling face.

"If you needed some chakra, all you had to do was ask." The smiling shinobi said and then all humor left his face. "I think that's enough, though", then the man did something Kisame did not even know was possible. Samehada's teeth started to be pushed out of Asuma's skin. The sword kept trying to recapture the shoulder but could not and what was worse, the flow of chakra just stopped.

"Do you like this technique?" Asuma asked with a smile. "I learned it during my time as one of the Shugonin Jūnishi (12 guardian ninja). It's called Iwa no Yoroi and once it's formed it has no chakra in it to drain and protects my core from external influence." Then he batted away Samehada and sent a fist flying toward Kisame's face. The man tried to bring his sword back into a defensive block, but his wrist was hit by a blur that he suspected, correctly, was the girl that accompanied his opponent everywhere.

For the next 10 minutes Kisame had the pleasure of being the first to face the Kōgubukijutsu in mortal combat [MORTAL KOMBAT!]. It was a two person taijutsu style. It was based on a whip bukijutsu that replaced the fast-moving popper with the Kōgu Surēbu of the Kōgubuki pair. The Kōgu Masutā delivered powerful strikes while his weapon was fast and precise with med-nin techniques, like chakra scalpel, to cause devastating damage.

And Asuma and Haku used their technique with a mastery that belied the newness of the form. Kisame could not get his sword into position because of the blurring form that kept deflecting it and if he shifted focus to swat the "annoying fly" he would get pummeled by armor incased fist and legs.

However, mastery did not mean perfection and truthfully perfection did not always guarantee victory. So, while Asuma and Haku were winning the battle, they were not dominating it and Kisame got a few powerful hits against Haku as well as avoiding the most damaging of Haku's attempted strikes. Asuma would later discover that his tool had endured three cracked ribs and a number of bruises all over her body. It would solidify his decision to ask Naruto to perform "it" again to protect her.

In any village within the elemental nations, one could find a group of people who were not themselves shinobi but were highly informed about the shinobi world. Whether for business reasons or personal, the smart civilians in the elemental nations made it their business to keep informed about the uber-powerful amongst them. These people had instantly recognized that they were about to witness a battle between a feared s-class missing nin and a new comer to the higher rankings in the bingo books.

Those who didn't immediately abandon the area, trusting in the reinforced buildings and roads, made wagers as soon as the upcoming battle was recognized for what it was. Most people bet on Kisame, seeing Asuma as a newly risen s-ranked nin biting off more than he could handle. Kisame had a history of killing such upstarts. The smartest of the remaining civilians started to make arrangements to cash in on the inevitable reconstruction that would be needed after two powerful shinobi caused havoc.

Once the fight started, they were all surprised to see the monster that many a shinobi feared slamming against the wall of a building, cuts covering his body. He rose from the ground with a sneer and threw Samehada at Asuma like a spear, following instantly behind it and flashing through hand seals. "Suiton: Goshokuzame" he snarled, and a nearby fountain erupted with five water sharks that surged at the fast moving Haku, attempting to surround her.

Just as Samehada reached Asuma, Kisame who had been keeping pace with it grabbed it and swung with all his might, beheading the oddly smiling shinobi. Then the Asuma in front of him melted into a puddle of water. Kisame roared in anger. He knew the use of a water clone, his primary affinity, against him was another form of disrespect. He would have no time to ponder that because he found himself in the center of a dome of ice and then his body pierced with needles.

The needles caused both his arms to go numb, Haku finally striking at the right muscle grouping, and he dropped Samehada. As soon as the "sword" hit the ground the mirrors imploded sending ice shards at him and shredding much of his body. If she had fully charged her mirrors, the implosion would have killed him, but she did not want to risk the time and so, once again, Kisame was saved from death but not grievous injury.

For all his faults, Zabuza had trained Haku to the best of his ability. He was petty enough to keep from her that she had surpassed his own ability and if she had ever had an opportunity to be ranked would have been an S-class Jōnin to his A-class. In fact, had Nagato known of her, he would have had Zabuza killed and recruited her and she would have ironically been Itachi's partner. None of that happened however and instead Haku, with the modified curse seal of heaven, was a Kage level sex slave and weapon for her master Asuma's use.

The appearance of the water jutsu sharks had not been received with surprise by the master shinobi or his tool. Every element had a jutsu that manifested a semi sentient creature and Suiton (water) jutsu actually had multiple across all jutsu ranks. Kisame was also well known for using them to, normally, devastating effect. The casualness with which he could call on the B-rank jutsu and it's A-rank version, was a fear inducing example of how he had earned his moniker.

Unfortunately for this jutsu, Asuma had an elemental jutsu of his own. One that was more powerful than anything Kisame could generate even in its purposefully diminished state. It was un-ranked but only because very few knew of it and none who knew of it could repeat it. Its name was Kazetatsu and it was an elemental wind dragon. After word spread of the fight, the Hokage would allow Asuma to declare it a Yuki clan kinjutsu (forbidden technique).

With Haku occupying Kisame, it took a mere moment for Asuma to call his wind dragon. To maintain appearances, it was still only the size on a ninken but that was more than enough for how powerful it was. Water is not particularly week to wind but strong beats weak in almost every case and Kazetatsu was much, much stronger than the combined strength of the water sharks.

Asuma did not even wait to watch his wind dragon decimate the sharks and unravel the chakra holding them together. He slipped back into formation with Haku just as her ice mirrors imploded and dropped an ax kick to the head, the minute Kisame's bloodied body was revealed. The kick landed and drove the missing nin's face into the stone path shattering it as if it was glass and not foot thick carved stones. The pressure wave also cracked the fūin re-enforced walls of some of the surrounding buildings.

It was a testament to the strength and power of Kisame that he was still conscious, if barely. Still, he was bleeding profusely and without the use of his hands he was unable to re-bond with his sword and find chakra to absorb to heal himself. Not that it mattered because in the moment after the kick landed on the back of his head he was not completely sure where his famed sword was and in his dazed state after the blow was not cognizant enough to think to search for it.

He would have been pleased to see that Samehada was desperately trying to find him and bring him chakra. Unfortunately he would have been even angrier at the fact that Haku had renewed her "weapon vs weapon" fight and was stopping the wriggling sword from reaching its master with a steady stream of deflecting moves that kept sending the sword off in tangential directions, ironically charging the sword with a steady stream of chakra as the Iroppoi-buki (sexy weapon) could not use the chakra blocking technique and maintain her tremendous speed and flexibility.

His mind cleared and he got himself up and his legs under him but before he could rise fully his chest met a flying knee and he grunted as he felt his rib shatter. A ninja of his caliber was able to feel the shards that sliced at his heart and he knew that he was now on a clock. He needed to get healed within 10 minutes or he would die from the damage from that blow. Funnily, the mortal nature of that wound made the breaking of his back from the impact with another fūin protected shop wall less important.

"Less" did not mean "not" though since his broken back limited his option for escape and his missing sword made instant recover impossible. He coughed up some blood which let him know that he also had some damage to his lungs and probably kidneys as well. He did not feel scared, coming to the realization that he was probably going to die if Itachi didn't show up. But he was angry. He looked up and screamed out his anger as he saw the Kubikiribōchō come towards him.

His last thought before his head was cleanly removed from his body by a sword expressly made for that purpose was more anger. Anger that he would be killed by the sword of the hidden mist that he had the least respect for, anger that anyone other than a Kiri nin would dare use it against him and anger that Itachi had not come back to save him.

 **...Sarutobi Asuma with Haku Win**

… **Fatality**

The fight had not been as easy as it could have been. The use of Kōgubukijutsu had been important but it was still in need of much perfection. Both the style and his, and Haku's, use of it. They had both received a few bruises and Asuma was not sure it would have worked against the missing nin if he had not negated Samehada's chakra absorption.

The shark attack could have cost them and forced him to show more of his power than he wanted because he and Haku had to switch positions for him to deal with them, but his Haku-buki had handled herself perfectly. All things considered, Asuma was pleased with the outcome and he collected the second of Kiri's famed swords to deliver to his father along with the borrowed one.

… **On the Road, Hi No Kuni**

It was becoming a pattern in Naruto's life that his missions would not go to plan. That may seem like an expectation for any combat-oriented group, and especially so in a world of rival shinobi villages and clans but Naruto was facing an unprecedented level of FUBAR for his missions. It was not just that plans had to be re-arranged or approaches had to be changed. But Naruto and anyone associated with his missions were consistently facing changes to their mission parameters.

Wave had been a perfect example and he was currently on a mission with two parts and already he had been forced to have a Clan meeting in the forest, discovered the truth behind Kumo's increased antagonism toward Konoha, made contact with Uchiha Itachi, a deep cover agent, and successfully updated his mission parameters without blowing his cover and a second of the seven swordsman of the mist had fallen to a Konoha nin.

Considering that the hardest part of the original mission was thought to be engaging Tsunade, the slug princess sannin and they hadn't even started that part, Naruto was excited to see what insanity was coming their way. He shared his views with his traveling companions and seeing an opportunity that he could not pass up, Jiraiya said "The Hokage sent us to get Tsunade because he intends for her to be the Godaime. And I want her to be my High Priestess of the Hadakashi."

No one had been speaking but once again silence had been achieved in an already silent moment. Other than her reputation as one of the Sannin, Tsunade was known for two things. She believed that only a fool would want to be the Hokage and she hated perverts, especially the pervert that was her ex-teammate. And now that same ex-teammate intended to convince her to be the Hokage and become the leader of a faction of shinobi women whose primary function was fulfilling his perverted desires.

"Well, …shit." Hinata said and both Naruto and Sakura nodded in agreement.

… **Home of Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Clan District, Konohagakure No Sato**

Uchiha Sasuke sat in the sat in his counseling session. It had been over two months since Kami had made her final attack on his fractured soul and broken him completely. It started when Ino had tortured him by playing with his mother's final moments and the impotence he had felt at not being able to save her. Then completed when the Hokage had stripped him of his connection to his chakra and, even though it was not said, he knew the instrument of the Hokage's will had been Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, the one person he had begun to hate as much as his brother and the villages newest seal master.

Across from the "last loyal Uchiha" whose loyalty had come into question sat Sato Rena. She was his councilor and sexual tormentor. When she had first arrived to speak with him, he had, understandably, lashed out at her. His chakra may have been bound but he was a prodigy in the shinobi arts, not just ninjutsu and as he yelled at the beginning of his attack, "THIS IS UCHIHA!". Everyone forgave the inanity of his scream since he was in the middle of a psychological break.

Taijutsu is one of many skills shinobi use that are aided by chakra but not dependent on it to be effective and Sasuke was a master of multiple forms. Unfortunately for him and his desire to hurt someone, his councilor was a Tokubetsu Jōnin, member of the T&I Division and was just as well known and well respected for her skill and ability as Anko.

Sasuke's attack on Rena proved to be another blow to the young man's arrogant belief that the only person that could beat an Uchiha was another Uchiha. The fact that he didn't have access to his chakra should have been a mitigating factor but Uchiha arrogance was that extensive and Sasuke did not make excuses. Not only had she casually deflected his attack but it had ended with him on his back and her sitting on his face, gleefully, with her panties pressed into his nose. "Do you like how I smell?" had been the humiliating conclusion to that event.

The Hokage had ordered daily sessions and that Sasuke be treated like a nin that had been recovered after being captured and interrogated by an enemy village. That represented the highest level of psychological care offered by the village. After her first session, Rena also began to use some of the techniques used with rape victims and victims of similar brutal assaults. All involved wondered why it took so long to get him the help he really needed.

"Sasuke-kun, tell me about your weekend." Rena asked and noticed that the boy in front of her blushed a little. She had been noticing similar blushes for a week and believed they were approaching a break through. His anger against his brother was still present but he was not totally focused only on his revenge and it caused the boy to notice other things. It was like he was just discovering he had gone through puberty and was dealing with all of it at once.

Sasuke did not fully trust the woman in front of him but she had convinced him that his time with her was a safe time where nothing they discussed would be used against him. She had actually promised that she would not share it with anyone, which was a promise he did not believe as trading in information was the core of the shinobi life. In truth he had planned the session around the assumption that word would get out and get back to Naruto. His blush was because things had become…complicated.

"I went to Ramen Ichiraku" he said. He met his councilor eyes defiantly, but she could see subtle nervous shifts in his body that spoke of guilt and uncertainty. "It is a good plan, Sasuke-kun" Rena told him, cutting to the chase. "Naruto-kun has become a rival to you and you seek advantages in that rivalry. Do not feel guilty about that. My goal, the goal of the Hokage is to see you returned to the ranks of the Konoha shinobi forces and a shinobi is not nice with good morals. That is for the civilians."

Sasuke's bearing settled with the honey words of his councilor. She had told him from the beginning of their time together that her intent was to first heal him and then seduce him into making her a mistress of the Uchiha clan. He had thought her insane, but she was succeeding where Anko had failed and he found his eyes drifting to her crossed, uncovered legs. Every day she came to him in a short skirt that left most of her thighs exposed.

Refocusing on answering her original question he admitted to his plans. "I wanted to seduce the owner's daughter, Ayame, before Naruto got to her. She would make a good mistress for me and once I took her into my family I could bring the entire stand into the Uchiha district. Then whenever the dobe annoyed me, I could just close the gates and deny him access to his favorite food for a while." Sasuke explained, although saying it out loud robbed him a bit of his excitement.

Rena didn't let him doubt himself though, and she let out a pleased laugh and said, "I love it. It's so deliciously petty." Sasuke blushed at how similar the woman in front of him was to the women he dealt with over the weekend. She was practically cackling, and he found the sound very sexy. Rena uncrossed and re-crossed her legs drawing his eyes to a brief flash of her red panties. Then she leaned forward and asked, "What happened Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke huffed and said "Ayame saw through me as well. I…did not do well in Anko's class so I doubt I am very good at seduction. I thought she would, at most, think I was just trying to use her because of the Hokage's decree about 'my responsibility', but after 30 minutes she guessed that I was there to try and annoy Naruto." Sasuke could see excitement in his councilors eyes and his mind, once again, marveled at the ridiculousness of having a T&I specialist, who openly wanted to join the Uchiha clan on her back, council him.

"Ayame told me that she used to have a crush on Naruto, but it died when he chose 'big tits' over her and so would happily help me." Sasuke went on to explain his odd Naruto centric date with Ayame and that somewhere along the way they stopped complaining about Naruto and he found himself enjoying talking to the slightly crazy girl. "I was able to tell her about Itachi, without losing it" he said softly. "She even made me laugh with her suggestions about what I should do to him when we finally come face to face again."

Rena hid her surprise. The weekend had seen a bigger breakthrough than she had imagined. It had taken her a month to get him to say Itachi's name and that was the first time he had said it without hesitating first. She questioned him for another hour testing him and his emotions to determine if it was time to move to the next phase of her plan. His anger had not diminished nor had his drive for revenge, but he had found enough balance for her to move forward.

"Sasuke, it is time for me to end my time as your councilor." She paused to enjoy his disappointment in his eyes for a moment. It was important that he worry about losing her, even if it would only last a moment or two. She shifted her legs a bit to draw his eyes back to her exposed upper thigh and then uncrossed her legs to lean forward, giving him the most open and clear view of her panty covered pussy she had to date. All to add a dose of sexual frustration to his disappointment. Then she struck.

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun, I haven't given up on being part of this clan or earning my position under you" she purred. "But, it's time to start remaking you into the shinobi you should have always been. So, you can start calling me sensei." Sasuke was uncomfortable with how easily both Rena and Ayame could tease him and his desire for power and control rebelled but did not know how to react to it. For so long his need to avenge his family had suppressed everything else and protected him, but now he felt adrift and he did not like it.

He needn't have worried because the next phase of his rehabilitation was for him to re-take Anko's seduction class, with Rena as his instructor, and he would find himself having the same personal attention that Naruto had received. His instructor already planned to recruit Ayame as a teacher's aid and Sasuke would be pleased to know that he would have one up on his rival because when the time came to lose his virginity it would be with two sexy women and not just the one Naruto had.

… **Apartment of Yuhi Kurenai, Konohagakure no Sato**

If she had not already solidified her reputation as a prude of the highest order, Yuhi Kurenai would have been a perfect candidate for membership in the Hadakashi. She would describe her "perfect qualification" as "has breasts and vagina", but acceptance within in the sisterhood was actually quite difficult.

In addition to having to achieve Jōnin rank, which required strength, power and skill, becoming an initiate required exemplary achievement in all three categories. All the current and future members would not be out of place in the ranks of the ANBU or any of the other special shinobi forces around the elemental nations and many would complete service with them before or after their time as a Hadakashi.

Fortunately for Kurenai and her plans, the Jōnin shinobi easily fit the higher standard and not just the offensive one her mind had created. Unfortunately, her reputation was well known and well earned. She would have to shed that reputation if she hoped to achieve her ultimate goal. It had taken a lot of soul searching and a night of sobbing, but Kurenai had decided and committed to sacrificing her body in the name of saving future kunoichi.

The morning after her tear-filled night she had gone to the Shinobi Academy at lunch time and watched girls like Kazamatsuri Moegi and Hyuga Hanabi. If not for the fact that she was a woman and that it was not unusual for Jōnin to observe academy students in preparation for team selections, the intensity of her focus on the girls would have drawn the attention of the ANBU.

She spent the entire time locking her love for them in her heart and surrounding that love with her hate for Jiraiya, Naruto, Kakashi and the Sandaime Hokage. Love for all the future kunoichi and hate for the men seeking to abuse and defile them would protect her and keep her on task as she sacrificed her own body to their lustful, perverted desires.

An avenger left the academy that day, committed to ending the perversion that had completely infected Konohagakure no Sato by any means necessary. She didn't know if the village could be saved or if the "cancer" had spread too much, but that was no longer her concern. Her only goal was to save the girls. Even if it had to be from themselves.

While the roaring flame grew strong within, on the outside a new image was being crafted. Kurenai sat in front of a mirror in her bathroom and turned herself into a slut. The changes would not have to be subtle. Men only thought with their dicks and she had no doubt she could get into all four of the hated men's beds by the end of that very night. But the perversion had momentum and she had to undo that first. And the best way was to become a Hadakashi.

Gaining entry into the sisterhood would take subtlety because women were not as pathetic as men. She would have to make her "fall' look believable and she already had her rape at the hands of Jiraiya as a convenient catalyst to justify the change she intended to show. Ino would be her key as she would use the lost girl as a public sounding board to express how much Jiraiya love making had "affected" her.

She would bed Asuma first, as he would be the easiest and then Kakashi. Once she was a proper slut for them she would find herself back in Jiraiya's bed easy enough and then she would apply to join the Hadakashi. From the inside she could start feeding information into the rumor mill to undermine the Hentaishindo and then the entire culture of sexual abuse of kunoichi.

As she sat with her leg spread practicing her reactions as her finger ran over her intimate parts she also forced herself to disconnect from the real pleasure it was giving her. She wished she could cut it off to deaden her nerves, but she could not appear mutilated when she was taken by the pigs. By the time she was done, not even her eyes would give away the burning hate that now lived inside her.

 _ **SRAN (Super Rare Author's Note)**_

 _I really hate Sasuke. And I hate that in a lot of ways he got away with being a dip shit. But I found myself in a conundrum. Either I allow him to be redeemed or I make him into a real villain in the story. And since I also think he is a moron I didn't want to give him the required intelligence buff to make that believable, so he'll probably just end up being a perpetual victim of my pranks. I don't like bullying so in exchange for picking on him, he'll get a Harem too._


	32. Tsunade's Long Road Home

**AN: WARNING! WARNING! Some gore in this chapter. And a minor sexual assault. No gratuitous descriptions though.**

… **Un no Shuku Hotel and Casino, Tanzaku Town, Hi no Kuni**

Tanzaku Town was famed throughout the elemental nations and was unknowingly a large reason for the great prosperity of Hi no Kuni and in turn partially responsible for the strength of the village hidden within the leaves. No other country had the financial stability of the Land of Fire. For most people the advantages of economic growth were not as exciting as grand battles between legendary shinobi, but it was an unheralded fact of life that the economy determined prosperity.

And Tanzaku town was a primary driver of prosperity for the Land of Fire. 80% of all sanctioned gambling in the elemental nations happened in Tanzaku Town as did 40% of all sanctioned prostitution and 35% of all alcohol sold. Not only did the Fire Daimyo have a residence there but so did the Daimyos for the Lands of Wind, Earth, Tea and Water. The fact that those four heads of state payed the Fire Daimyo well for the privilege further illustrated why Hi no Kuni was an economic and political power house on the world stage.

On the top floor of one of the better hotels, in that hotels second best suite, Shizune sat dumbfounded. In her arms, Tonton shared her bewilderment. The two companions stared in wonder at a catatonic Senju Tsunade. Their mistress had not moved from her position looking through the large glass windows for almost 6 hours. Shizune had never seen Tsunade fall so deeply into despair, but for the first time in the years she had accompanied her, Shizune could not fault her. More than that, the normally skeptical Jōnin finally agreed with her sensei's "irrational superstition".

… **Flashback**

Tsunade was in a panic. As usual, when such things happened, her loyal student stood by her trying to calm her down while also handling the repercussions of the slug princess' latest actions. Tsunade knew that the girl never believed her when she acted this way but that did not matter. The blonde woman did not need faith in that moment, she needed obedience and Shizune was that, so as Tsunade ran around in a panic, Shizune secured her pig, Tonton, and gathered her things to run.

Tsunade had won big. Really big. Really, really big. She was cursing herself in her mind that she had not been paying enough attention earlier, but by the time she realized, and the horror started to dawn on her, she had won back all the money that she had lost. Not that day, or that week or even that month. Senju Tsunade, the Densetsu no Kamo (Legendary Sucker), had won back all the money she had lost since she had left Konoha on her sabbatical.

She had arrived in Tanzaku Town two weeks earlier for a Hanafuda tournament. The tournament was in its first year but all 5 of the top hotel casinos had combined to put it on and it was positioning itself as the largest gambling event in the elemental nations, ever. The tournament would last a week and was expected to attract every serious gambler in the world and a good number of amateurs looking to test their abilities or raise their reputations.

Tsunade and Shizune had arrived a week before the beginning of the tournament so Tsunade could enjoy the festivities and the secondary gambling events that had popped up around the main attraction. In preparation for her normally abysmal luck she had given Shizune her entrance fee so that she didn't accidentally gamble it a way. Secure that she would not miss the tournament, she had surrendered herself completely to her addiction.

She started out losing as normal but didn't notice that over the week she was winning more than she was losing. Shizune was handling her money and she misinterpreted the flow of chips back and forth in front of her as her losing and her student replenishing her loses from her still large Senju Clan inheritance. In her gleeful abandon she missed Shizune's happy smile and forgot how difficult it was to get money out of her inheritance accounts.

Then the tournament happened. It wasn't until the confetti fell that she came back to her senses. She had won. The largest tournament in history with the largest payout ever and she had won. "Run" was the thought that screamed in her mind. When she tried to cash out, she was met by the casino owner offering her his best suite and complimentary access to all the hotel's amenities. Tsunade figured that it was part of winning the tournament until she looked down at her balance slip.

The number on the slip was mind blowing and much more than the winnings from the tournament. She had not bankrupted the casino but she had taken enough its money that it was, unsurprisingly, willing to open up all its services to her in hopes that she would gamble it away back to them. Since Shizune had deposited all her previous winnings with the hotel hosting the tournament, Tsunade's expected return to losing would net them a very nice sum, if they could get her to stay.

"Nooooo!" Tsunade screamed before she turned and ran; trying to get to the door. She expected Shizune to follow her so didn't see the girl pause long enough to arrange deposit of all Tsunade's winnings into her personal bank account in preparation for leaving town, much to the owner's dismay, before following her sensei. Shizune was a shinobi and she had been dealing with Tsunade for a long time, so it took her very little time to conclude her business and catch up to the panicking Sannin.

Shizune reached Tsunade just in time to see the older woman's top get caught on a hook that was being used to raise her name up to the winner's box. How that had happened was anyone's guess. Shizune and Tonton looked on in amazement as before Tsunade could react to the hook, two waitresses tripped and fell into her while a third waitress knocked over the man holding the hook's cable. The two groups fell apart and with a loud rip, Tsunade's top was torn from her body.

Everything froze for a minute before realization hit that there was a gorgeous blonde with huge tits now standing topless at the entrance to the casino. No one could deny that Tsunade's breast were not only large, but they were perfect. They defied gravity and had long nipples that for some reason were very hard at the moment. Three men, in black, who had been entering the casino paused to "admire" her and one of the men said, "Hey tits, when we're done why don't you come with us." Then he pinched one of her nipples.

Man number one of the three men looking at the gorgeous pair of oppai considered the opportunity to grope the woman a good omen of what they were planning. His brother would never have approved of what he and his friends were about to do but he and his two closest friends were tired of the small time road stick-ups they had been doing. More importantly they were unsatisfied because of how boring they had become. They had been so well planned that they hadn't had to kill anyone in months and his brother forbade them from having fun with the women.

The man's frustration had been growing for a long time especially as he had once been the leader of the gang until his brother showed up and within 6 months had completely taken over. He still wasn't sure if he was angrier at his brother or his supposed friends who had been so easily turned by him. He had been biding his time since then until he got his hands on a crate of grenades and came up with his current idea.

He had been the black sheep of his family. In fact, his father had even tried to commission an assassination contract from a missing nin before his brother put a stop to it. His brother was the pride of the family and had been destined to be a samurai almost from birth. He had found it hilarious when his brother had found him. Arriving at his camp a disgraced former samurai, man number one had graciously allowed the ronin to join his gang.

Instead of being thankful, his brother had taken over leadership. Most of the gang loved it as they had more money, were living better and, despite not raping the women they robbed, had steady access to the charms of more cooperative women. But, man number one intended to make a bid to regain leadership and robbing this casino in the middle of the day was going to show everyone. His brother was trying to make them into some sort of honorable thieves and that was just stupid.

He would show his brother what it really meant to be a bandit and so instead of leaving the majority of the victims alive, he intended to cut a swath of death and destruction that would raise his name, their real name, into the heights of the criminal underworld. Man number one even imagined that he may be one of the few non-shinobi to get an entry in the bingo books.

Security had noticed the three men and more importantly, the grenades and other weapons they were carrying and were unsure how to react. The men wore the distinctive uniforms of a notorious gang that had been terrorizing the area and it was obvious they intended to cause a lot of trouble. The guards figured that robbery was probable although they were more concerned with all the grenades the men were carrying. Tsunade did not notice that, she was just pissed that the "asshole" had dared touch her.

Her breast had been too big of a distraction for anyone to notice that the head and body attached to them belonged to one of the, arguably, 10 strongest shinobi in the world. That was a mistake at least two of the criminals would not make again. Tsunade was terrified of the massive change to her luck, she was embarrassed by the fact that her breasts were out and on display, she was angry with the small bit of enjoyment she got from the lustful looks she was receiving and she was livid that she had been molested by a pervert. She had reached her limit.

Some people found the half-naked woman sexy, some found her situation humorous, some thought she did it on purpose and was just a slut looking for attention. Only one person, and a pig, shivered in fear. She wasn't the only one after killing intent flooded the area and Tsunade's fist connected with the chest of the man that had assaulted her. His body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut and the fear multiplied at the clear sound of his manhood turning to mush after the angry blonde stepped on them.

Man number two tried to throw one of his grenades, but his arms were not working. He didn't know anything about chakra scalpels. And he definitely did not know that every nerve muscle and connective tissue in his shoulder had been severed when the topless woman had passed him. He did know pain though and as he collapsed to the floor he realized he was screaming because of it. He might have survived the precision surgery that had just happened inside his body, if Tsunade didn't step unto his chest and liquefy all his organs as she had done to his leader. Man number three ran.

Tsunade finally calmed herself down when the cheer went up. Her luck had shifted wildly again, and the three men turned out to be members of a notorious gang that had been known to conduct bandit raids on the roads around Tanzaku Town. They had an especially clever disgraced samurai as their leader and had been avoiding capture for over a year. Apparently, using grenades as a "stick up" method was part of an expansion plan.

… **One month later**

Tsunade could have left town, but it would have likely seen her become a criminal or forced back to Konoha. Apparently, policing of the major economic hub for Hi no Kuni was the responsibility of a particularly ambitious shogun who also, unluckily for Tsunade, despised shinobi and was not pleased that one had found success against the gang that had been making him "look like a fool for the last year".

Tsunade might have been able to escape still without involving Konoha, but the politically connected casino owner did not want to see the sannin leave town before having a chance to reclaim the money she had won from his business. Her reputation as a normally unlucky gambler and an addict brought support from the other casino owners and before long she was required to stay "until the investigation is over."

The sticking point they had come up with actually had some validity. She had not attacked those men to prevent a robbery or save lives. Every witness reported it looked more like a brutal response to her groping and if not for the fact that the men were clearly about to kill a lot of people she would have been charged with murder. Lucky her.

Tsunade was leaving the police station again after another "interview" where she had to sit and listen to the shogun's favorite samurai berate her about "dishonorable" shinobi. At the beginning of the month, the man had at least pretended to be trying to ask questions about the incident but now he just used her as a verbal punching bag for his issues with shinobi, women and whatever else angered him.

Tsunade would have been happy at the whole situation because it represented a return to bad luck for her except that the town had practically adopted her as its hero. She found herself beloved in a town tailor made for her and being forced to stay and enjoy it. It was horrible. She was barely sleeping and starting to jump at shadows. Making her interrogation sessions with the samurai that much more unsettling.

Fear had kept her from gambling for a week, but she had ended up back at the tables. The third day of gambling had ended with her seriously considering taking her chances with killing all the samurai and running. That was because every day she had broken even. No matter how recklessly she gambled she ended each day even. It was one thing to have bad luck and another to have good luck, but having no luck was causing Tsunade to lose her mind.

She felt the presence of the two men long before they made themselves known. Tsunade had already left her daily interrogation so she sighed at why two samurai would be making their way toward her. With the way her luck was going they either wanted to kill her or were going to tell her that they had completed a coup against the reigning shogun and had decided to elevate her to the position.

She had never seen her luck react so erratically and had decided that whatever great tragedy was heading her way she could not avoid it. So instead she had renewed her training and that of Shizune's. Whatever was coming for her would pay for their ambition in pounds of flesh even if she eventually fell. She doubted "it" was the two samurai approaching her. Samurai were really pathetic. "I should have just left the town and become a missing nin." She thought.

Okabe Ienaka walked boldly toward the "shinobi". If one could hear his thoughts or eavesdrop on any conversation where the chakra using assassins were discussed, they would know that Ienaka considered the term "shinobi" to be the greatest insult he could offer. Whores, thieves, murderers were all terms and peoples the man held with greater respect than shinobi. To him shinobi had no honor. And they exacerbated that by trying to act as if they did. At least thieves and murders admitted to their evil.

"There was a time…", Ienaka thought to himself for the millionth time, "…when samurai were the most respected, most powerful warriors in all the elemental nations." He saw the big breasted blonde and snidely wondered to himself how many men she had allowed to defile her body, so she could murder them in their sleep. "A dishonorable whore, a shinobi" he scoffed to himself. That was when he saw him.

Soma Tadaatsu walked brazenly through the town. He had no doubt that he would likely die before being able to escape but he, like most samurai, was OK with that. He would not sneak through the night like a [sneer] "shinobi". No, he would find the honor-less bitch and kill her in open combat. He was sure his fight would bring out the town guard, but he knew they would not interrupt his fight, once it had started. After he killed her, he would probably fall to one of their blades, but that was how a samurai was supposed to die.

Tadaatsu knew these things because he was once a samurai. Like all samurai, Soma Tadaatsu was not his real name. Each Samurai took a traditional name after receiving their katana. He should have lost his name when he became a ronin, instead of committing seppuku, but he refused to give it up because it was not him who had lost their honor. It was the Daimyo when he formed the 12 Guardian Ninja Corp. His fellow samurai agreed with him and so the few times he met them in battle they still called him by his samurai name.

Tadaatsu was in the town because his brother had been killed by a shinobi. His brother had never been a samurai and the man's plan to use explosives to rob a casino was not only ill conceived but was not his way. If he had known about the plan, he would have stopped it. Even so, the [sneer] shinobi who killed his brother could not be allowed to live.

Okabe Ienaka and Soma Tadaatsu arrived at Tsunade from opposite directions at about the same time. The slug sannin recognized one of them as the second in command to the man who insisted on "interviewing" her constantly. The other man was a mystery. The, clearly, samurai armor he wore was well maintained but obviously in need of replacement, and he didn't carry himself like a man who had left service. He moved like he was still in his prime. She could also sense there was great tension between the two, once they noticed each other, but also a lot of killing intent directed toward her. "Fuck my luck" she exclaimed out loud.

No samurai would admit it but the fall of prestige they had faced due to the ascension of the shinobi was not just because the shadow warriors were willing to fight dirty and deceptively. Shinobi had greater control of their chakra, greater reserves of it and much more powerful jutsu. One of the five major shinobi villages had more ninjutsu than all of the samurai equivalent, bushijutsu, in the world. Samurai didn't even acknowledge lightning and wind as basic natures.

Even though the most dangerous person in the three way stand-off was, by far, the s-class kunoichi, both Okabe Ienaka and Soma Tadaatsu refused to acknowledge that and only had eyes for one another. "Soma Tadaatsu." Ienaka began "What I do is my duty, not what I desire." He finished before taking a kenjutsu stance. Tadaatsu repeated the traditional greeting between fighting samurai before they both quick stepped toward each other.

For all their deficiencies to shinobi, the one place where a samurai's skill and ability was unmatched was in kenjutsu, the art of the sword. Over 90% of a samurai's use of chakra was devoted to bettering their kenjutsu. When fighting another sword wielder, the movements of a samurai was a beautiful dance of death to witness, but that was only because they held little respect for anyone who would pick up a sword, or any weapon, and not commit their lives to bushido.

When facing a fellow Samurai, however, most fights did not last more than three strikes. That was because no samurai approached another with less than 100% of their skill and ability. The habit of shinobi where they used weaker abilities against each other and slowly increased the skill shown and used was just another sign of their lack of honor and discipline to the minds of the samurai.

Tsunade watched in amazement as the two samurai passed each other. There was one clash of swords before the squelching sound of a blade cutting through skin and bone. Unfortunately, Tsunade's luck was still haywire and the decapitated body of the man who had come to confront and attempt to kill her twisted toward her and drenched her with its arterial blood.

… **End Flashback**.

Shizune did not know how to help her sensei. The woman had been in a constant state of panic for over a month and all the things she normally did to alleviate her stress had seemed to rise up against her. To lose at gambling was one thing, to win was something else but the streak of breaking even was insanity. She would not have believed it if she was not there to witness it.

After the fifth day, Shizune had watched Tsunade leave a card table early while down 100,000 ryō only to accidentally drop a chip on the neighboring dice table surface right as the betting was over and have that chip win 100,000 ryō. Another time she left while being up 50,000 ryō only to accidentally destroy a slot machine when the man playing it called her "Tits". The cost to replace it, exactly 50,000 ryō. Down 25,000 ryō, then win a 25,000 ryō door prize. Up 500,000 ryō and return to see the equivalent in damage done because of a left running faucet and an overflowing tub.

Shizune had tried for years to convince Tsunade that her superstitious nature was ridiculous, but even she could not deny the ominous feeling that had been growing around Tsunade. Then it happened. She had been there to witness it and it was like watching a road accident unfold before her. With hindsight it was easy to see how each preceding even led to the accident but up until the moment the cart flips over you have no clue that it's going to happen.

Shizune had moved almost as soon as the first bit of blood hit Tsunade. As a Jōnin level shinobi she had reached her as fast as was possible, but it was not in time to not have the blonde woman covered in blood. Shizune had gotten her back to the hotel quickly and had her disrobed and bathed. In the end Tsunade had been in contact with blood for less than 20 minutes, but that was already 20 minutes two much and the clean woman had been in a catatonic state ever since.

At the 3 hour mark, Shizune had experienced a fleeting moment of hope when Tsunade had risen from the bed she had been laid in but the woman had just moved to stare out the window and become still again. If Tsunade didn't return to some form of normal by the morning Shizune would be forced to bring her back to Konoha. Tsunade was in every bingo book and if her state became known, Shizune knew she would be no match for the type of people that would come after her. Especially if she had to defend an unresponsive sannin.

It was approaching 12 hours since Tsunade had lost herself after being covered by blood. Just as Shizune strengthened her resolved to collect Tsunade and begin the journey back to Konoha, Tsunade's entire body shuddered, then she blinked. Shizune's joy that her sensei had returned from wherever her mind had gone died, when the older woman turned and looked at her.

Tsunade and her student looked at each other for a full 5 minutes before Tsunade shuddered again. She seemed to have more control over herself and whispered "Please, have a drink with me." Normally Shizune did not drink with Tsunade, thinking she would inevitably have to be the voice of reason either for Tsunade or for the proprietor of whatever establishment they were in, but this time she just nodded.

… **Random Bar, Tanzaku Town, Hi no Kuni**

Tonton let out a mournful squeak as he watched his mothers drink at the bar. Shizune, who had not drank as much as her companion rubbed the pigs head in understanding of the cloud of sad energy that surrounded them. She looked at Tsunade who seemed to be staring off into space again. For a moment she was worried that the woman had gone catatonic again when Tsunade quickly brought the shot glass of clear liquid to her lips and downed it in one motion.

As soon as they had arrived, they had ordered a bottle of saki and so Tsunade didn't have to wait to refill her glass. However, once her glass was full again she returned to staring off into space. This had happened a few times now and if things happened the same way, Tsunade would nurse her drink for a while before downing it quickly and repeating her action again.

Shizune would drink a shot of her own for every two Tsunade downed and so she was also starting to feel the warm fuzziness creep up on her. "Do you know why I'm hemophobic, Shizune." Tsunade said quietly. Shizune knew her sensei wasn't afraid of blood as much as the sight of it caused her to freeze up. A reaction that spoke to great trauma but one Tsunade had never truly shared the details of. "Not the exact cause, sensei." She replied equally quietly.

The sad blonde sighed and chuckled ruefully before saying, "It's OK, child, even those who know don't actually know. Before last night, I am not sure I really knew." It was very rare for Tsunade to call Shizune "child" and it was the first time in the younger woman's recollection that Tsunade had done it when not right on the doorstep of drunken unconsciousness. "I will listen if you wish to tell me Tsunade-sama." Shizune said with worry and concern etched on her face.

Another sigh and what Shizune believed was a forced control of a sob that wanted to escape and Tsunade looked at her with watery eyes. "For the few people who think they know, it is because I loved a man who wanted to be Hokage. Then I loved a second man who wanted to be Hokage. I gave both men my grandfather's necklace. He was the Shodai you know?" Tsunade looked at Shizune and saw she had all of her attention.

"Of course you knew that. Everyone knows that." Tsunade continued. "The first man was my brother, Nawaki and the second was your uncle, Dan. Both of them died after I gave them the necklace, Dan died in my arms, bleeding everywhere and I could not stop it." She looked at Shizune for a long time and tried to build the courage to speak the truth for the first time. "I promise you that I really loved your Uncle, but it was my luck that killed him not the necklace. Just like it killed Nawaki."

Shizune had just dealt with the extremes of Tsunade's luck so she was not prepared to dismiss the words completely, but it was clear that Tsunade blamed herself as much as she blamed luck and for Shizune to help she needed to know more. "Sensei, how did your luck kill them?" she asked. Anger flashed in Tsunade's eyes for a moment and Shizune figured that her mentor thought she was being condescending. She met the other woman's gaze steadily showing that she was taking this admission seriously.

Tsunade deflated. It didn't matter if Shizune was taking her seriously, she had no strength to maintain her anger. She took another shot and refilled the glass and was quiet for a full five minutes, before speaking again. "It is not easy being the grandchild of the Shodai Hokage, nor is it easy being a powerful shinobi, and you know the unspoken challenges of being a kunoichi. I was all three. So instead of fighting another fight I just gave in to the men I loved. But my soul did not give in and it is what directs my luck."

Shizune was not understanding what Tsunade was trying to tell her. It was obvious that she blamed herself for the deaths of her brother and Dan and that she considered her luck as part of why she was to blame but the kunoichi, and the pig, were missing something. "Tsunade-sama, it is not 'giving in' to support the people you love in their dreams."

Tsunade just shivered and swallowed the contents of her glass again, then she refilled it and immediately took another shot of the rice wine. Then she stared of into space again for a long moment. "I am so much like my grandfather. Everyone had been saying so since I was three. It wasn't just his personality, people could see his strength and power in me. If it wasn't for the fact that he was alive, most people would have thought I was his reincarnation. Nawaki was strong but everyone knew he would never be as strong as me." Shizune only nodded, still unsure of the point being made by her sensei.

"I loved Dan but I knew early on that we shouldn't be together. He was so much weaker than I was and I knew that eventually that was going to be a problem. He knew it too. He would have been happy to be the weaker one in the relationship, but he knew before I did that it wouldn't be enough for me, so he decided he would be Hokage, and I decided to let him have that. Maybe if he was Hokage, it would bridge the gap enough."

That made more sense to Shizune. She was not looking to settle down but she knew that many kunoichi before her had dealt with the issue. The lucky ones found their equal or stronger in the men they fell in love with, getting to live a life that matched society's expectations. Others found men who were OK with the stigma of being the weaker of the pair. Most of those men were civilians, already comfortable with being the weaker members of society.

Shizune could only imagine how difficult it would be for someone of Tsunade's caliber to find a mate. Especially since it seemed like she wanted someone that was a match to her in strength and power. Shizune knew every man in the elemental nations who could fit the bill, most by reputation. The list was very sort and she could think of none that would interest her sensei. She knew who would have her vote but she dared not speak that thought out loud.

"But my soul knew even if my heart and brain refuse to listen." Tsunade said and Shizune was brought from her own thoughts back to listening. "I finally had to face the truth while I was trapped inside my own head." Shizune knew she was still missing something, but the cloud of despair started to evaporate and she started to feel her sensei's power.

Shizune had forgotten what it was like to be in the presence of Tsunade of the Sannin when her power was fully awakened but the familiar power reminded her why she had committed her life to being a disciple of the woman and even though she was consumed with gladness that her master had returned she wondered what was happening. Before she could ask again, Tsunade turned to her and said, "I want to be Hokage."


	33. The Godaime Pt I

**AN:**

 **BE WARNED! BE WARNED! AND BE AWARE!**

 **THE ENTIRE AKATSUKI, PAIN, MADARA, EYE OF THE MOON PLAN, KAGUYA ŌTSUTSUKI BROUHAHA WILL BE BROKEN BEYOND ALL RECOGNITION. EVEN MORE DIVERGENT FROM CANON THAN I HAVE ALREADY BEEN. I WONT EVEN COMMIT TO ALL THEIR PRESENCES IN THE STORY.**

 **SO, FEEL FREE TO COMMENT, CRITICIZE, EVEN FLAME BUT CONSIDER THIS MY OFFICIAL NOTICE.**

 **YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

* * *

There are 4 ranks achievable to a shinobi in the elemental nations; Genin, Chunin, Jōnin and Kage. At the junior ranks (Genin and Chunin), shinobi are further split into low, mid, and high levels. The levels can overlap depending on the village assigning the rank which means it is possible to meet a high level Genin that is an equal to a low level Chunin, but the levels rarely overlap farther than that unless a shinobi with the skill and strength to deserve a higher rank and level has not been promoted for one reason or another.

At the senior rank (Jōnin), shinobi are split into B, A and S classes. Technically, a Genin is a D rank shinobi and a Chunin is a C-ranked one, but those terms are never used. Most Jōnin are A-class when promoted unless they become proficient in a specialty, such as torture, interrogation or medical services, in which case they are promoted to the B class Jōnin rank, called Tokubetsu Jōnin.

Of note is that all Jōnin can apply to be in the shinobi special forces, known as ANBU, but for the five major villages and a few minor ones, it is an extreme rarity to have a below A class Jōnin shinobi serving in the elite units while at the same time every ANBU operative is cross trained in at least two Tokubetsu specialties.

Kage is a special rank above a S-class Jōnin. The rank is the pinnacle for a shinobi and is typically achieved after a lifetime of training, battles and survival. The word means literally means "shadow", as being one with the shadows is the highest aspiration of someone who dedicates their lives to be a shinobi. To be ranked a "shadow", a shinobi must have a mastery of the arts that, when necessary, makes them indistinguishable from a shadow.

All kage ranked shinobi, past and present, are known for grand battles using powerful jutsu that literally scorch the earth, moving mountains and rivers at will or taming the air. A true kage level shinobi, however, achieved that rank because they can move with absolute silence and have the skill to throw a kunai between the flaps of a hummingbird's wings and cut out a man's voice box without him knowing it till the next time he tries to talk.

While there have been a few shinobi who have achieved this level of skill and ability, only a ninja village can truly bestow this rank on a someone and they only grant it to their leader who is traditionally the strongest shinobi in a village. Consequently, A kage level shinobi (deserving of the rank) that doesn't lead a village is officially ranked as an S-class Jōnin, but terms like "SS-class" and "flee on site" are used to indicate the true level and skill of those powerful shinobi. Politics and small village size can also see the opposite where a Jōnin, or even Chunin, ranked shinobi is called a "kage" without holding the actual rank.

Corresponding to each rank is an expected chakra pool (or reserve). While a shinobi's chakra reserve can be higher than their rank it can never be lower as having a specific chakra reserve level is part of the promotion requirement. The reserve levels match the rank levels going from Genin size up to Kage size. The standard was set by Senju Hashirama and has not been adjusted for the growing ability of shinobi, so it is not unusual for an above average shinobi to have chakra reserves a level above their rank.

… **Hidden Location, Forests South of Western Road to Otafuki Town**

In many ways, Sarutobi Asuma's well thought out presentation to create Team 7 had been wasted. Jōnin sensei rarely entered their students in the first Chunin exams after the team had been formed. Chunin exams happened every 6 months and one usually occurred around the time of the Academy graduation. Genin typically were entered into the exams after about a year and a half or the third exams after their creation. In addition, Genin usually didn't earn promotion until after their second attempt.

That meant that Team 7, as constituted by Asuma should have been active for at least 18 months doing the proposed B and A ranked stealth, infiltration and assassination missions. Fortunately, the proposal was still a success and was arguably more so as the most obvious difference between a Genin and a low level Chunin was the Chunin's ability to execute missions on their own. So, instead of having one option for the exceedingly popular B and A rank missions, Konohagakure had three; four if you counted Ino who was not a stealth specialist but was very good at using seduction for infiltration and assassination.

Hinata's current mission was of the stealth and infiltration variety with an additional extraction component. The daughter of a wealthy merchant family had decided to "rebel" against her father and ran off with bandit group leader after falling for his "bad boy" charm. A viscous beating after complaining about the conditions of the bandit camp, had violently removed the "rose colored glasses" from her eyes. In between the abuse and rapes that followed, the young woman had found a way to get a letter out, pleading for help.

Unfortunately for the young girl and her family, the bandits had found themselves the subject of a "kill on site" order. On that would include the young girl since the reports listed her as an accomplice and lover. The father's pleas to save his daughter fell on deaf ears to an administrator who didn't believe in showing favoritism to "spoiled little rich girls". The father turned to contracting Konoha to extract his daughter before the inevitable and wanted all trace of her removed to make sure she, or his family, was not associated with the coming blood bath.

The mission was Hinata's, but Naruto and Sakura decided to tag along. Just to spend time with their fiancé while she worked. Watching Hinata in "mission mode" was very sexy to both her lovers. Sneaking silently through the night also brought back fond memories of their first infiltration and extraction mission to the Hokage tower and all that they had gained because of it. All in all, it was a playful atmosphere as they moved to the camp.

Some would mistake their playfulness as a dangerous level of arrogance, but in truth, they were treating the camp with far more respect than it deserved. No step was skipped or under done. Even the steps that were only necessary when a shinobi was suspected to be present, which it wasn't. And Hinata managed to do it all while having to watch Naruto's fingers tease completely silent orgasms out of her best friend and sister wife.

The mission was successful with Hinata returning to her lovers with the merchant's daughter safely unconscious and all trace of her removed from the camp. Before they left, however, both Hinata and Sakura got to add sex in the middle of a bandit camp, sex next to an unconscious client and sex in the middle of a stealth and infiltration mission to their list of wild places to have sex.

… **Pain Palace, Akatsuki Headquarters, Amegakure, Ame No Kuni**

His name is Pain. Because that was all he allowed himself to remember of his life.

He is the Amekage of Amegakure no Sato, arguably the greatest of the minor ninja villages. In fact, it is only because of the heavy damage the village received during the second shinobi world war and that Ame no Kuni has no recognized Daimyo that Amegakure was not the sixth major shinobi village. Something that Pain's predecessor, Hanzō the Salamander, considered a great insult. One of the rare beliefs shared between the old and new Amekage.

Pain had defeated and killed Hanzō during the third shinobi world war. Even though Hanzō was no were near the powerhouse he had once been, Pain was still a kage in title, rank and power. He was obsessively driven toward his goal of "peace" through control of the world and he had been collecting S-class missing nin into his secret organization, Akatsuki, in order to build the power necessary to accomplish that. And until recently, all had been going according to plan. Akatsuki was the most powerful collection of shinobi in the world. But that was changing beneath everyone's notice

"Please say that again, Konan". Pain voice spoke softly. "Hai, Amekage-sama", came the reply from his purpled haired second-in-command. "Uchiha-san has reported that Kisame-san was killed by a Konoha Jōnin during their mission to apprehend Uzumaki Naruto." Before her leader could respond, though it looked like he hadn't quite decided what to say, she went on. "With the death of Orochimaru, we have lost two members in under 6 months and both while trying to pursue the Uzumaki jinchūriki."

Konan was dancing very near to a truth Pain did not want her to know. The Amekage had kept it a secret, so she had no way to realize that her constant use of the name Uzumaki was causing the normally overly pragmatic leader to become a bit irrational. Konan had been with the man once named Nagato since they were young orphans and loved him as much as she was capable, so she would have felt betrayed by what he had been keeping from her.

Pain, formerly Nagato was an Uzumaki. Or at least he considered himself an Uzumaki. More importantly, he considered himself the true heir to the Uzumaki. This belief did not come from a meticulous investigation into his own lineage but instead was the product of a chance discovery made by a desperate orphan in search for family and the arrogance an ego of a powerful chakra using shinobi that had warped that discovery into a sense of entitlement. One that was being challenged by the re-awakening of the true Uzumaki lineage.

"Amekage-sama, I do not understand why we are attempting to capture the Uzumaki now. He is the holder of the nine tails and we have yet to even capture the one-tail. Has the plan changed." On the outside Pain maintained his calm calculating demeanor, but inside he fumed. "How dare she question me", he thought. Even though she did not know the truth; to his mind, Konan should have obeyed him without question. The part of his mind that demanded he kill everyone associated with Hanzō started to question his last, closest friend's loyalty and whether she would serve him better as one of his paths.

As if subconsciously recognizing how close she was to making the powerful man an enemy, Konan spoke again. "What is your order Amekage-sama?" Pain looked at her a long moment and smiled in appreciation that she was not standing against him but rather seeking clarification. He told her, "It took me some effort, but I have found a new vessel for the human path and you shall go with him and recruit the slug sannin to join our cause."

Konan nodded at the wisdom of her Kage's decision. They had lost one member of the legendary three and it would make sense to replace that member with another of them. The "slug princess" was not currently a missing nin but she was as close to one as possible based on the intelligence reports and she was more than powerful enough to fit within their ranks.

… **Old Tanzaku Castle, Outside the East Gate of Tanzaku Town, Hi no Kuni**

"To be my personal assistant and guard, Shizune, you must be an ANBU." Tsunade barked then snapped, "Again!" Shizune groaned and rose back to her feet. For eight years she had been the student of Tsunade and the woman had insisted that she maintain her rank as a Jōnin. When she had first approached the Sannin about becoming her apprentice, her highest aspiration had been to become a Tokubetsu Jōnin mednin, but Tsunade had insisted that she would not take an apprentice that was anything less than a full Jōnin.

Shizune felt the ground again. Every once in a while, Shizune would forget that her sensei was a kage level "ss-class" shinobi. Normally the reminder would be pleasant as it would come at the expense of a handsy fellow gambler or better, a yakuza underling hoping to increase their reputation. "I guess it was only a matter of time" she thought as she applied healing chakra to her shoulder where Tsunade had punched her out of the sky.

Tsunade had been a hero of hers growing up. The woman was so powerful and well respected that most people didn't even refer to her as a kunoichi, specifically, when talking about her. She was just one of the Sannin shinobi to be feared, respected or both. But despite her power the woman breezed through the village like a fresh wind offering just as much care and compassion as her reputation suggested she offered in death and destruction.

When the woman had conditionally accepted her as an apprentice based on her ability to rise to full Jōnin, she had accepted it as a proper challenge worthy of the value of the apprenticeship she was seeking. And she had never regretted a moment. Tsunade held nothing back in her teaching. Not once had she witnessed the older woman use chakra in a way she did not know that she would not later teach her. In fact, it was just before their trip to Tanzaku Town that she had achieve the proper control and skill to begin the Strength of One Hundred Seal.

The Strength of One Hundred seal was not fūinjutsu and was just a physical manifestation of the completed process. After being deemed ready, Shizune had been taught to channel a portion of her chakra to one point on her body continuously. Eventually the "seal" would manifest itself at that location and she would be able to store that power for use as she saw fit. The initial "charging" could take up to 4 years of continuous channeling. Shizune wondered how angry her sensei would be at where the seal would show up.

But now, Tsunade had offered up a new challenge. For them both. "Before the month is done, I will be Hokage, Shizune. It's what my luck has been trying to tell me and been leading me toward. It cleared all my debts and forced me to face my issues with blood. You have walked with me through my darkest time and I want you to walk with me in the light. But you cannot do that if you cannot rise past your limitations."

Shizune looked at Tsunade in wonder. Tsunade carried with her a presence that could not be denied and she refocused herself, determined to see her sensei achieve her true ambition and walk with her as she had been doing these last few years. Shizune moved and her body faded as her after image vanished. Tsunade punched at the air and Shizune bent around the punch and kicked at Tsunade's head.

Tsunade moved out of the way and struck with glowing fingers, but Shizune dodged that as well, dancing under the chakra scalpel and striking out with a glowing finger of her own. Tsunade easily dodge it and struck the ground with her foot. A rock spike shot up out of the ground and cut Shizune's side but the mednin did not pause or hesitate and instead screamed. "Ninpo Dokugiri".

Tsunade responded with "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu" which created a cascade of water that absorbed the poison mist and went on to try an overwhelm Shizune with the flood. Shizune ran at the onrushing great waterfall and dived through spinning her body like drill and bursting through the other side heading right for Tsunade who stomped her foot again only for Shizune to hit a rock wall that grew up in front of her sensei and deflected her back.

The Shizune that landed on her back dissolved into water showing herself to be a clone and the real one flew up from the ground beneath Tsunade's feet a kunai striking at her sensei. Tsunade showed no surprise on her face as she pivoted on her right leg moving out of the way of Shizune's attack but still raising her arms to block the kick Shizune sent toward her as she passed through the space the sannin once occupied.

Using the block as a spring board, Shizune propelled herself a bit higher than her initial attack would allow into a backflip. When her head came back into line with Tsunade she shot two rows of senbon needles from the launcher on her wrist, spit an additional four from her mouth and followed up with "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu" releasing a stream of water at her master.

Tsunade body flickered away from the attack onslaught and showed up hovering behind Shizune who was still at the apex of her jump. The sannin casually flicked her two hands and eight shuriken embedded themselves in the younger kunoichi's back, before a puff of smoke showed the deadly projectiles stuck in a piece of wood.

Tsunade landed to find Shizune on her knees, breathing heavily and Tsunade held up her hand. Shizune smiled. There was no way she could have beaten Tsunade but during the last series, her sensei had been sending attacks that would have killed her if she had not defended properly. For some that may have been off putting but for Shizune it meant that Tsunade had faith in her and that gave her more confidence in her readiness than any more training could.

"Each day I see why you should and will be the next Hokage, Sensei." She thought before she felt it and turned. Shizune felt the presence a moment after Tsunade did and after applying some more healing chakra to herself and swallowing an herbal pill of her own making she appeared at Tsunade's side to face the incoming chakra source.

… **Road To Tanzaku Town, Hi no Kuni (One week earlier)**

Naruto wondered at the temporary team he was currently on. Three Chunin, three Jōnin and a perverted sage, with a civilian along for the ride. He doubted that such a configuration of shinobi had been seen since the last war when large teams were more common for specific missions. They had not been idle though. The three Jōnin kunoichi had adopted, to a degree, Hinata and Sakura and spent the days introducing them to new jutsu. Both for fighting and for the bedroom.

The trio of Hadakashi warriors were stunned at the depth and breadth of the future Namikaze wives' knowledge and skill with ninjutsu and they were confident the girls were hiding their true ability still. Jōnetsu (Passion), the Hadakashi who carried a sword was able to give Sakura some bukijutsu instruction for use with her kanabō that the pinkette had not known.

But other than that the trip was spent with the five women sharing and experimenting with training techniques. Much to the delight of both Naruto and Jiraiya since the girls went out of their way to position their bodies during training and exercise to give the boys the most seductive of possible views. Hinata and Sakura going so far as to remove their hooded tops to put their bodies more on display.

For Naruto, Jiraiya had put down his titles as the Shodai Ero Sennin and the Yokubō no abatā and instead became the godfather he should have always had. For some it may have been hard to allow the man to take up that role after being absent for so long but Naruto was a man of his word and after Jiraiya had paid his penance and struck his name from the toad contract, Naruto had fully forgiven him and accepted him in his life.

It was decision Naruto was not regretting, because the man was spending the journey telling him stories about his mother and father that he had not heard before. The two did train as well as that was the primary focus of most Shinobi. And if stretching twisting their bodies acted as a seduction for the males, the sight of the two strong males sparing with each other and tossing around powerful jutsu with ease left all six girls panting. Nights at their campgrounds were filled with passionate cries, fortunately hidden from detection by silencing seals.

The training had been taken up a notch when Naruto demonstrated that he had already mastered his father's two most powerful techniques, the Rasengan and the Hiraishin no Jutsu. Part of the time when the two were not making their various girlfriend's panties wet (Tomi excluded since she didn't wear any) from their training, Jiraiya insisted on Naruto explaining in excruciating detail, how he used fūinjutsu to improve the space-time technique to allow Hinata and Sakura to use it as well as fitting the seals on a shuriken.

The remaining time not discussing fūinjutsu or spent wetting panties (or in Tomi's case, inspiring deliciously sexy trails of viscous fluid to slide down thighs) the two discussed the Rasengan. Naruto had, of course, read his father's notes about the man's failure at incorporating his natures into the attack. Naruto had figured out a way to do it with fūinjutsu but wanted to complete his father's work as the man had intended. The discussion was way above the heads of even the Jōnin kunoichi but very sexy to watch. Not as sexy as watching the two battle but definitely moistening.

The mission to collect Tsunade was not particularly pressing and Naruto suspected that the Hokage had given it to him, in part, so he could bond with Jiraiya. An opportunity he was enjoying. Because of this they had not been moving very fast nor had they been stealthy as they traversed the Land of Fire. Naruto suspected that was on purpose as well.

After the failed invasion and the death of Orochimaru at the hands of the Sandaime, Konohagakure had grown to be as powerful as they had been since the beginning of the last shinobi world war, if not more so. In addition, the secret of the curse of heaven seal was still holding, but the increase in strength and ability of the Konoha shinobi forces as they took missions was being noticed. Having the leaf's jinchūriki casually strolling across the country sent a powerful message.

… **Un no Shuku Hotel and Casino, Tanzaku Town, Hi no Kuni**

There was no doubt where Tsunade would be found considering the size a scope of the tournament happening in Tanzaku Town and Jiraiya had originally planned to arrive at the end of the tournament to catch his wayward former team mate before she left. But he had gotten word about her "troubles" and decided to leave her for a bit. He knew how superstitious she was and he hoped that a month or so facing the consequence of not being under Konoha's protection might make her more amenable to talking with them. How he intended to seduce her was something he was keeping very close to the vest.

They arrived in town to much fanfare. Hentaishindo had a large following in the town and Jiraiya had sent word an hour early of their arrival. In that time, the brothels had flung open their doors and a spontaneous bacchanal had erupted. After that day it was decided to have such events monthly as the increase in revenue around the city was over 60% as all the sex workers, from companions, to geisha, to the Town's own Nyūyokusan and of course the prostitutes, all flooded the streets.

The Yokubō no abatā actually felt his chakra buzz in response to the party that greeted him, and the group made their way down the center of the street in an impromptu parade leading to the hotel Jiraiya knew Tsunade was staying in. Tomi let slip to one of the leaders, "we are here to find a new priestess for Abatā-sama" and word spread through the crowd like wild fire. Not long after, clothes went flying. Jiraiya should have been annoyed but he was a pervert and could never be annoyed by young beautiful women running around naked and randomly engaging in sexual depravity, all to get his attention.

The young woman at the Un no Shuku Hotel and Casino receiving desk was a follower of the new religion but her work attire typically conformed to traditionally conservative style. With the arrival of the Yokubō no abatā in town and making a beeline for the hotel, her manager encouraged her and the entire staff to modify their uniforms as they liked to receive him.

The standard male uniform consisted of black slacks with a long-sleeved white shirt with a red vest over it. Every male removed their shirts, wearing only the vest. The bolder of the men wearing the vest open. Some of the men even found co-workers one size smaller and borrowed a tighter pair of pants. The standard women's uniform was similar except with a skirt instead on pants. Like the men, the women removed the shirt going with only the vest, some being so bold as to remove the wrappings around their breasts or leaving the wrappings and wearing the vest open.

Nakano Aimi wanted the avatar to know that she was a follower of Hentaishindo and her and a few other girls who followed the religion decided to wear the white shirt, with no wrappings or vest. They did each find the smallest women, and in one case man, they could to borrow their shirt. Ripping out the lining left the girls wearing tight, slightly transparent tops that hugged their bodies tightly.

Every woman completed her chosen look by folding the top of their skirts, cutting the lengths in half or more for the women particularly proud of their thighs. The last thing Aimi did was remove her panties and lay them next to the guest book before receiving the entourage with a smile. Her boldness already increasing her arousal and that of most of her coworkers who saw her do it.

"Good Afternoon, iroppoi-hime" Jiraiya purred at the woman behind the counter. "What is your name?" The woman was a civilian, but she could still feel the power of Jiraiya's lustful chakra and as a follower of the new religion it felt amazing. Her entire body vibrated with sexual excitement when his voice rumbled and she felt her own swamped core vibrate in sync with it. "I…I'm Aimi, abatā-sama" she said in wonder.

"A name of beauty and love for a body worthy of sex and lust, iroppoi-hime." Jiraiya replied and the woman in front of him had a little orgasm. Her face flushed from the release and then became a bit darker when Jiraiya sniffed the air in front of her, then picked up her panties and smelling them. "You smell devine." He said. Aimi was no shrinking violet and as a follower of Hentaishindo she had participated in all manner of sexual deviancy but being in the presence of the avatar of the lust god was an experience greater than she had ever had.

She took a few breaths and shivered at the masculine sent that now lingered close to her and found strength in her faith. With courage she offered with a purr, throwing off her fluster to offer herself up to the happy pervert, "I am at your pleasure, Abatā-sama, how can I serve you." She shivered at the spike in lust her words caused and allowed his response to wash over her like a sensual massage. "We will require two rooms and information on a friend that is staying here. Senju Tsunade."

Aimi nodded. "Of course, Abatā-sama, the best room in the hotel has just completed repairs and is next to Tsunade-sama's. On the other side of her room is our final penthouse suite and will be made available to you and your friends." Jiraiya nodded as the woman spoke. Her words were clear and professional, but her tone dripped with desire and wantonness.

He followed with an equally innocuous question that also dripped with a tone that seemed to demand she bend over her desk and spread her legs. "Is Tsunade here or is she in the casino?" he asked, and the women replied with a head shake. "No Abatā-sama, she and her apprentice left two days ago. Shizune-san indicated they would be training but would return in a week and to keep her room for her." The woman was vibrating now. The conversation was normal for her profession, but her nipples were so hard they stung, as was her love button and she was already on the edge of orgasm.

The only indication that Jiraiya found the information he received odd, was a slight raising of one of his eyebrows. Since she intended to return and the woman in front of him was obviously offering more than the room he decided to wait her out. "Jōnetsu (Passion), Kanraku (Rapture), Ekusutashī (Ecstasy)" Jiraiya called out. The tone of command was erotic and even Hinata and Sakura felt it and moved closer to Naruto. "Go to the temple and prepare for a sanctification. I will be their tomorrow morning, tonight I wish to thank Aimi for welcoming us so splendidly to her town."

The woman in question almost collapsed at the opportunity she was being offered. For a moment she wished she had kept her panties on because of the actual puddle she was leaving on the floor. Tomi moved around the desk and took her into her arms. For the devout, Tomi was just as revered as the avatar and the girl melted when her hero kissed her softly on the lips, surprisingly increasing her arousal more without sending her over the edge, something Aimi wouldn't have though possible.

One of Aimi coworkers and friends promised to man the desk and Tomi led the lucky girl to the stairs followed by Jiraiya. At the stairs Tomi turned to the girl who took Aimi place and said, "When your shift is over, you should join us as well." That woman had kept on her panties and for a moment wished she had discarded them as well as she would spend the rest of the shift with her own wetness pressed against her skin.

Naruto shook his head and took his key from behind the counter since the replacement hostess was left spluttering. He followed his girlfriends up to their room and found himself pounced on as soon as they entered. Neither of them wanted to join Jiraiya but the man got their fire burning bright and Naruto was always the happy recipient. Jiraiya's act had worked on Naruto as well, however, and he quickly summoned Inume, Shime and Haname before sinking into Hinata for the first of many times that night.


	34. The Godaime Pt II

… **Un no Shuku Hotel and Casino, Tanzaku Town, Hi no Kuni**

It had been two days since Team Pervert had arrived in Tanzaku and Tsunade would likely not recognize the place. The Shogun over the town was in a constant state of agitation. The presence of more powerful shinobi irritated him as did the fact he could do nothing about them. But to add insult to injury the shinobi happened to be the founder of the most dishonorable and depraved new religion. If he had been asked, before knowing, he would have guessed the source of the travesty was a shinobi.

He raged that he could do nothing about that either. He actually considered it a failing of his that the religion had permeated his town so much without his notice. The sexual frenzy the town had been stirred into had the backing of every powerful representative in the village. From the business owners to the various wealthy citizens. He had even received word that the Daimyo himself, and his wife, were coming to join in. Finding out that four of his own samurai were members of the religion had almost led him to revolt. Instead he hid in his home and waited for it to be over.

… **Flashback**

Sanctifying the Hentaishindo temple was an exercise in perversion, lust and decadence. It would be the seventh ceremony that Jiraiya and his ladies had conducted as part of his mission to reorganize the spy apparatus of Konoha around his new religion. As Jiraiya stood at the center of the temple gathering lustful nature chakra to himself he smiled to himself. The sanctification of the Tanzaku Town temple would be his most memorable ceremony to date because it was the first that would include his godson.

Jiraiya let out a perverted giggle at the life his godson was building. The man did not care that he had reformed the Uzumaki clan or that he had spearheaded the creation of the Namikaze clan. He cared how he did it. And Naruto's method was to use his not so little head. He had even lost his virginity to one of Jiraiya's prophets a woman with a sexual appetite that was closest to his own and even surpassed his other prophet.

Prudish people would use different words for Naruto's accomplishments. They would try to call it "political matches" or some such nonsense, but Naruto had fucked his way to the head of his academy class, literally going into the final with his fingers smelling of his Hyuga sex slave and after sexually dominating his pink-haired sex slave. He had won the allegiance of the Kitsune not through great jutsu, or political posturing but by promising to fuck 10 of them and, through luck and guile, he had found two more girls to spend the rest of their days waiting on their backs for him to fill them up again. Jiraiya could not be more proud.

He looked over to his high priestess and one of the loves of his life. Tomi glided through the room like an angel of sex and lust. He never tired of her or her luscious body. She was petite at only 5'3" tall with a slim body and soft curves to her hips that led up to, large-for-her-frame, C cup breasts. The beautiful shaped globes were topped by small, perpetually hard nipples surrounded by small coin size circles of tanned and crinkled areolas. Below her hips at the juncture of her legs was a completely hairless pussy that carried a permanent flush and was always wet and leaking a little bit.

Jiraiya's eyes roamed over her body and he knew she could feel his gaze because her nipples managed to harden even more and the flush spread from her sexpot across her flat stomach and up to her chest. He did not need his growing lusty powers to know these things because it was clear as day through the completely transparent robe she wore for the ceremony.

He listened as she welcomed the large crowd and offered passionate kisses to each of the couples that would participate in the sanctifying circle. His already sky high libido found room to further expand as he watched her kiss Naruto, then Sakura and Hinata. They were the only threesome present and he was eager to see how they would arrange themselves when the blessing started.

Next his three Hadakashi move to surround him. They were completely naked for the ceremony except for the half mask that still covered the upper parts of their face, though the clay had been replaced with silk. His warrior priestesses could easily be mistaken for demons of sex and seduction as their lithe bodies moved to kneeling positions with their legs spread and breasts and cunnies on display. As soon as they were in position, their hands started to glide over their own bodies pinching and prodding at their own erogenous zones.

As Tomi's words and the erotic movements of the Hadakashi enraptured the crowd, Jiraiya removed his clothes presenting his sculpted naked body to the crowd. He sat in a modified lotus position, that allowed his manhood to stand tall and let his sage mode take over. Tomi moved to him and climbed into his lap, her small body against his large one causing people to wonder how she fit and staring in lustful amazement at seeing it happen.

The expression of natural energy was a true religious experience for everyone who witnessed and participated in it. Tomi's sexy body vibrating in time to the pulses of chakra with each time she reached completion; Jōnetsu, Kanraku and Ekusutashī's bodies writhing in pleasure as their fingers and danced across their sensitive area and they moved in synchronization and the one treo moved together using tongues, fingers and one phallus to satisfy all.

The entire event captured the minds of everyone but the physical presence of power that encapsulated the area as the avatar took his high priestess in the center of the temple was mind blowing for a populous that had been operating on faith up to that point. Nakano Aimi committed herself that day. She would leave for Konoha and return two years later as a Hadakashiko to be the Shinshoku of the Tanzaku Hentaishindo temple.

… **End Flashback**

… **Old Tanzaku Castle, Outside the East Gate of Tanzaku Town, Hi no Kuni**

The chakra that Tsunade and Shizune were feeling was not Jiraiya's. The sanctification of the temple had occurred days before and while they had felt it on the edge of their senses, neither kunoichi had given it much consideration. Mostly because it was completely devoid of malevolence. And had, in fact, felt warm and encouraging, if either kunoichi was forced to give it a description.

The chakra that was currently approaching was not only much more noticeable, but it was the definition of corrupted. The two beings crested the rise in the approaching road and came into view. And both women could tell that the corrupted chakra was coming from the male and was drowning out the chakra of the female walking next to him.

Tsunade eyes widened a bit when she finally recognized the man walking toward her casually and with a smile on his face. She closed her eyes to take a breath because while anyone else would consider the smile charming and self-assured, to her it was demonic. "This is what my soul sensed coming for me" she mumbled before closing her eyes to block out the horrific vision. "This is why it had gone to such extremes to prepare me." She said quietly, speaking to herself. Shizune would have been able to hear her if the girl was not also amazed at what she was seeing.

Tsunade's initial horror turned to anger and that anger started a slow, but deliberate climb toward fury, because next to the blue hared woman with a flower in her hair, was her lost love, Dan. She felt Shizune's distress like a physical presence and knew her apprentice recognized her uncle as well. She also felt when her apprentice's shock turned to anger and pride and that caused her roiling emotions to settle into determination and added calm rationality to her now towering rage.

Konan and "Dan" stopped 20 yards away from the Sannin they had come to recruit. Like Orochimaru, before his death, the Amekage wearing the dead Konoha shinobi's body intended to use Tsunade's lost love as leverage to bring the powerful S-ranked kunoichi to his side. Orochimaru planned to promise to bring Dan back from the dead where Pain had actually done it, in a fashion. Both men having little respect for the kunoichi they thought could be easily controlled by her love and fears.

Having Dan as one of his paths gave him access to some of his memories. Like the Yamanaka clans mind switch jutsu, the process of making Dan a path gave pain the ability to mind walk in the man even after death. Unfortunately the amount of decay since the man's death made pain's knowledge limited. If Tsunade had been the broken person she was when she first entered Tanzaku Town, the inconsistencies in Pain's knowledge would have meant nothing in the face of the emotional turmoil and manipulation that would come with facing her lost love.

The Tsunade who had faced herself and accepted her ambition would not be so easily influenced. So, when the blonde's eyes opened burning with an inferno of anger, the two "visiting" nin took a step back. Konan recognized immediately that this had been a mistake. Not just because of the anger she saw in the woman across from her, but because she had hidden it completely until the moment her eyes opened. That kind of control was supposed to be beyond the Senju Tsunade they were supposed to meet.

The world that they all lived in had multiple known jutsu to animate or possess a dead person. For the average citizen and even the average shinobi, those ways were unknown or only whispered as rumors. For people of Tsunade rank, those jutsus were better known. For the slug princess sannin, greatest mednin in history, animating copses was practically a course of study. With her mind stable, the last thing she thought about someone wearing her lost love like a suit was that the man with the caring heart had been resurrected.

Pain, for all his charm, was an emotionally stunted and broken person himself and so did not see what Konan saw. He still thought his plan to impersonate Dan was a good one and so said, "Tsunade-hime, I'm back and we have these people to thank." Pain put a crooked smile on Dan's face and was surprised to feel a spike in chakra so powerful that the ground around them cracked. Then a fist impacted him so hard that the four black receivers imbedded in his body, cracked and he lost his connection to his new human path.

… **Un no Shuku Hotel and Casino, Tanzaku Town, Hi no Kuni**

Jiraiya and his three Hadakashi's eyes opened at the same time. All of them felt the flare of chakra, but only Jiraiya recognized it as his former teammate and that it meant she was beyond angry. He ordered Jōnetsu and Ekusutashī to protect Tomi and told Kanraku to follow him. Naruto, Hinata and Sakura met him outside and without a word the five ran toward where the flare was felt.

On the way Jiraiya felt a spike of guilt. He wondered if he had made the same mistake he had with Naruto again. Instead of going right to his mission target he had gone off to have sex. But just as soon as the doubt crept up, it receded. The situation was not the same. His days of sex and debauchery were part of his mission and he had done it with a clear mind and not because he was hiding from facing his teammate.

She might not believe him, but he had no fear in facing her. He loved her and had loved her for practically his entire life. He had loved Senju Tsunade before he fully understood what it meant for a man to love a woman and he knew in his heart she loved him too. They had both ran from that love and that was not something he would do anymore. Every decision he had made up to this point had been the right one and any danger his love was in was not his fault. But he was there, and she would have his support.

… **Old Tanzaku Castle, Outside the East Gate of Tanzaku Town, Hi no Kuni**

Her name is Konan. She is an S-ranked Jōnin of Amegakure. Many people mistook her quiet demeaner for weakness. None dared say it but there was also a belief that her rank was reflective of her long friendship with the slayer of Hanzo the Salemander and not any actual power and skill on her part. The very few people who had ever stood against her learned the truth quickly. She was powerful.

Fortunately for all involved, the woman that stood across from her was also strong. She was also the type of woman that never mistook, silence or soft-spokenness for weakness. Konan looked warily at the pulp that was the body of a dead shinobi she was not completely familiar with except being told that he was the lost love of the drunk gambler known as Senju Tsunade.

… **Senju Tsunade vs Konan**

"How dare you?" Tsunade screamed in fury. Her speed was unbelievable as her fist crashed into the spot Konan had once been in. Konan allowed the dust to clear and looked at her target at the center of a crater, 10 meters wide with her fist imbedded at the center. Konan was not one to be shocked or surprised by the skill of the shinobi Akatsuki recruited. Their power was one of the reasons they were selected.

She was also supremely confident in her own abilities and believed the woman below her was as out of practice as she had originally thought because she was hovering above her with her paper wings extended and the sannin was clearly prepared for her to appear from beneath the ground or from a lateral position. Her belief was put to the test when she felt great pain as her left paper wing was sheared off and she fell from the sky.

She noticed, peripherally, the Tsunade at the center of the crater crumble into dust. Konan had no time to chastise herself for falling for a clone jutsu, because of the difficulty she was having drawing her paper back to herself. She felt the slug sannin come towards her, so instead of drawing her papers in she scattered them just before Tsunade's foot hit the spot she would have been.

The large mass of small square pieces of paper spread around Tsunade, reforming into the blue haired woman next to the mass of flesh that was one of her true love's paths. The fact that her left arm felt "off" was concerning, but an issue to be handled at another time. She collected the shattered pieces of the receivers and shunshined away just as Tsunade's fist drove through the space her head would have been.

… **Senju Tsunade Wins**

… **Flawless Victory**

"Bitch", Tsunade screamed at the empty space. She took solace in the fact that she knew she had really injured the girl. Since accepting her true calling she had been preparing for her coming promotion. She had read through all the bingo books and recognized the Ame kunoichi. The woman's paper jutsu made her almost indestructible as the woman could reform herself from her paper. "Unfortunately for the girl…" Tsunade thought with a smirk, "…my attack didn't just cut her paper, it cut the chakra holding it together."

During the brief fight, Shizune had taken up a position to guard against additional intruders to the fight. She was learning one of the most difficult lessons ANBU had to learn. Sometimes, the responsibility was to make sure that the kage could fight, undisturbed. In a fight between kage level shinobi, ANBU could get in the way, so they were trained to act as perimeter guards and meat shields, throwing themselves into the path of fatal attacks that their kage had not dodged.

Konan was definitely an S-class Jōnin, but she was not kage level, so Shizune spent the fight on perimeter duty, which is why she was the first to greet the arrival of Team 7 and "team pervert". Jiraiya was famous in his own right but was recognized on sight, naturally, by the apprentice of a fellow sannin. If his appearance or that of a stunningly beautiful topless, masked kunoichi was a surprise, Shizune did not show it on her face.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, could not keep the surprise from his own face. His information network was very good. Probably the best in the elemental nations so it was with absolute confidence that he was able to say that the powerhouse that was his former teammate was the product of a very recent change. He could not help the smile that graced his face as he remembered the girl that he had fallen in love with so many years previously. For some reason his Tsunade was back.

"What do you want, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked still staring at the desecrated body of the man she once planned to marry. "First let's take care of Dan, then have a couple stiff drinks, then we can talk." Tsunade nodded in appreciation to her friend. She sighed at the warmth she felt when she heard his voice, a bit irritated and guilty that clarity came with more than a desire to be Hokage.

… **(Another) Random Bar, Tanzaku Town, Hi no Kuni**

It had been two weeks since Tsunade had been forced to confront the resurrected body of her lost love. Since her decisive defeat of both the body and the woman with it, Tsunade had been in a form a silent mourning. Instead of reburying Dan's body and allowing whomever sent it to use it again, she had burned it in a funeral pyre.

The occasion and the four days after had been a somber and Jiraiya had stood with his partner in silent watch over her through it all. They had not spoken more than a dozen words to each other the entire time and none of the people traveling with Jiraiya had joined them. In truth, Jiraiya's presence was both comforting and annoying for Tsunade.

Despite his usual boisterous and perverted nature, he had always been a good person to have around when facing tragedy, because he seemed to instinctually know exactly what a grieving person needed from him at any moment. When Dan had died, Jiraiya had been there for her then as well and she had used him for everything from a shoulder to cry on to a punching bag to vent her anger and frustration.

This time she didn't need either, she just needed someone to be witness to the desecration, its consequences and what she had to do. Both sannin knew that there was much more going on and if Tsunade was not part of the convoluted mess, she would dismiss it all as the ridiculousness only found in one of Jiraiya's books. The last week of her "mourning" before meeting with Jiraiya again had been spent without him coming to terms with all of her feelings.

…

"I think we have a lot to talk about." Tsunade said. "Yup" was her former partners reply. Considering the two people sitting across from one another were considered two of the most powerful shinobi in the world, that one of them would likely be the next Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, that he had brought with him six sexily dressed women, four of which were virtually naked, and a young man that, himself, would star in the fantasies of many of the women in the surrounding area; that was a pretty large understatement.

They were sitting in a booth in the small bar. Their companions were standing around them, close enough to hear the conversation but not so close as to seem as if they were listening. Shizune, with Tonton in a carrier on her chest, was watching the proceedings intently and was standing the closest behind Tsunade. In a similar position behind Jiraiya stood Tomi, looking calm and almost regal.

Tomi's three guards, Jōnetsu, Ekusutashī and Kanraku were the farthest away and positioned in defensive positions. Despite being topless, wearing uniformed that hugged their gorgeous bodies like a second skin and having the eyes of almost every male on them, they projected a aura of professionalism and danger that kept everyone away.

Naruto, Hinata and Sakura sat across form the booth at the bar. They watched the proceedings as if they were watching a live action soap opera, anxiously awaiting the two announcements and the reactions that each would cause. Sakura had an additional interest as she desperately wanted to become the apprentice of the woman who was a hero to every kunoichi.

Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at each other for another moment, both downing the glass of sake that was in front of them and then refilling it. "I know that Orochimaru is dead" Tsunade began what was to be a long conversation. Jiraiya's shoulders slumped a bit, as did Tsunade's. They took another drink and observed a moment of mutual silence for the "weird" boy that had fallen so far from the path.

After the moment passed, Jiraiya told the Tsunade the details of the failed invasion of Konaha and a bit about the repercussions. Tsunade listened in rapt attention, nodding in appreciation at the return of the "will of fire" to both her former sensei and the village as a whole. After his retelling, which focused mostly on the final day and the Sandaime's fight with Orochimaru, Jiraiya handed Tsunade the letter he was to deliver.

Shizune watched her sensei as she read the letter. She had no idea how to act or what to think. Her curiosity was burning her so hot she would swear she could physically feel the heat and pressure of it. "They would have to discuss the thing I already know about first." She thought in frustration. Word of the death of Orochimaru had spread like wild fire as had news of the attempted invasion and the fact that it was the "Second God of Shinobi" that finally confronted and killed his former student.

Shizune wanted to know what was in the letter. She wanted to know about the three Chunin shinobi that felt like Jōnin. She really wanted to know the story of Hentaishindo and how Jiraiya had created it. But most of all she wanted to know why the three clearly powerful guards with Jiraiya were topless and why the also clearly civilian woman was wearing a kimono so sheer, she could see all of her body.

Tomi looked on with a smile on her face. Hentaishindo was her love child and the blond woman sitting across from her lord represented the final piece. She loved Jiraiya with all her heart, but her faith was based on lust and desire. And Jiraiya lusted and desired Tsunade as much as he loved her and Tomi wanted the busty woman for her lord. She wanted her for herself, too, since the woman was the inspiration for her second favorite character in the book she considered her bible.

"Shizune" Tsunade said without looking away from the letter. The woman holding a pig, pulled her eyes away from the perfect breasts of the woman standing behind Jiraiya and her thoughts on how her nipples stayed so hard and answered, "Hai, sensei?" Tsunade looked up to her with shocked eyes that stunned Shizune and said, "The Sandaime Hokage is recalling us to the village. He intends to name me as his successor and have me become the Godaime."

The group from Konoha got a taste of their own medicine as they became confused at the "fish-like" expression on both Shizune and Tonton's faces. "What is that about?" they all thought. Shizune actually groaned, out loud, when Tsunade went on to explain her adventure in Tanzaku town. She would forever believe in higher powers. The events of her life and that of her sensei, had gone ridiculously beyond what could be considered coincidence. Shizune thought it less rational to believe the events were not ordained at this point.

Team 7 was a bit disappointed that the revelation of the first bombshell did not result in any wild or violent reactions. Naruto had even prepared himself to defend the "will of fire" and the Hokages, including his father and adopted grandfather. Their disappointment was alleviated by the tale that replaced their expectation. Tsunade's story was riveting and even brought tears to Hinata's eyes before both her and Hinata literally cheered at their hero's acceptance of her ambition to be Hokage.

When it was his turn again, Jiraiya introduced Team 7. Tsunade was impressed by the three young shinobi. Truly Konoha was in a good place if the three of them represented the future of the village. She knew, of course, of the Jinchūriki, but was surprised to learn of his true origins. She knew Uzumaki Kushina and, of course, knew the Yondaime, but did not know of their secret wedding or that Kushina had given birth.

She had Uzumaki blood through her grandmother but was not an Uzumaki. Still she was beyond happy at what Naruto had done for the clan. She had heard the rumors but learning the extent of what he had done and that Uzushiogakure had been rebuilt was nothing short of amazing. "You are always welcome to visit our home, cousin" Naruto said and Tsunade smiled in appreciation.

The Hyuga princess was no less impressive and was also a powerhouse. Hearing about the turmoil she had caused within her own clan was stunning and she knew something she would be dealing with as the next Hokage. She listened as the young woman informed her of her plans for the Hyuga clan once all the bad blood had been expunged through the civil war. Tsunade was concerned that the civil war would just create more of it but Hinata explained that the main part had been abusing the branch for years and both sides needed to experience the current conflict for balance. Especially since she was making sure the branch was winning.

However, despite the political upheaval caused by the Uzumaki and Hyuga, it was the civilian born kunoichi that left Tsunade (and Shizune) flatfooted when the girl bolded requested that she become Tsunade's next apprentice. It wasn't her request as Tsunade regularly received requests like that from kunoichi, it was her bragging about her already impressive strength and chakra control. The pink her girl did not make a demand, but it was clear she thought Tsunade would be the one to lose if she said no.

When her attitude became too much, Tsunade decided to teach the girl a lesson. She promised to accept her as her next apprentice if the Chunin could impress the sannin in a spar which moved the group outside. Tsunade had intended to teach the little upstart a lesson by flicking the girl on her large forehead and telling her to come back when she made Jōnin but was surprised by the speed and strength of the girl.

Sakura danced around Tsunade's initial attack and blocked her finger. She was sure she could still beat her if she took the fight seriously but was not very comfortable with the amount of doubt she had about that statement. But she was impressed and agreed to take Sakura as an apprentice when she returned to the village. She heard the girl tell her teammates, "She's stronger than me" and didn't understand why they reacted so strongly to the news.

Shizune, for her part, was not jealous but she was not overly pleased that the girl who would clearly be Tsunade's next apprentice was so far along. The longtime companion just reminded herself that her own training had already reached the last milestone. So even if the pink haired girl would not take three years before being ready, she would not past her.

Once again seated at the table in the bar, Tsunade took a drink, poured another, took a second drink and then sighed. "Ok, I'm ready. Tell me about Hentaishindo." It had been the elephant in the room. With all the happenings surrounding the search for Tsunade, the rise of Hentaishindo and the naked, sexually deviant women that now followed Jiraiya was the one that everyone was most interested in, including the people in the bar that had been watching and listening.

Jiraiya called Tomi over and introduced her as his high priestess of Hadakashiko and then introduced the three topless kunoichi as "warrior sisters" of Hadakashi. What followed was a comprehensive history of the founding of Hentaishindo. It included the changes to the seduction classes and how that affected the village's culture, how that change had spread to the hot springs, Tomi's introduction into the life as a Nyūyokusan, his return to the village, his atonement and finally his acceptance of himself as the Yokubō no abatā and the Shodai Ero Sennin of Hentaishindo.

Once again, Tsunade, Shizune and Tonton were speechless (squeakless in the case of the pig). It was like one of his books. Tsunade's heart actually clenched at the thought that Jiraiya had been ready to surrender his life as penance. She knew what her feelings were trying to tell her, but she was stubborn, and she had made her position on Jiraiya clear and was not willing to be proven wrong to the man who had told her as boy that she would be his.

To the surprise of all, that was the end of the evening. Naruto, especially, expected Jiraiya to make his move to start seducing Tsunade but a quick look at the flustered blonde woman suggested that perhaps he had. Naruto did not know much about his godfather before his return to Konoha and the founding of his religion, but from what he had heard, the man would not have ignored the opportunity to do or say something perverted to his former teammate.

He could see that the absence of that had thrown the woman off a bit. The trip back to Konaha would take a week if they traveled as slowly as they did coming and Naruto found himself eager to see what his godfather would do. Tsunade did not know what she expected after the story was told. She also did not know what she wanted. But she was surprised when Jiraiya, instead of doing or saying something perverted, said "That's enough for one evening, let's get back to the hotel. Tomorrow we bring Konoha its new Hokage."


	35. I Need A High Priestess

… **On the Road to Konoha, Hi no Kuni (First Morning of Trip Back to Konoha)**

The power of the fastest growing religion in multiple dimensions was already starting to influence Tsunade's apprentice and the blonde sannin could do nothing but watch it happen in stunned amazement. It started the previous night while still in the hotel in Tanzaku town when Shizune had started to ask how the topless kunoichi were treated.

Shizune had made sure to not be insulting; she was just curious about the level of harassment the women faced. "We cannot be verbally harassed because we are every bit the shameless, sex addicted sluts some people might call us and the fact that, not only are we not bothered by that, but we fully embrace it, destroys the power of the words they may use." Jōnetsu had told the wide-eyed woman. "And no man or woman who tries to harass of physically lives to try a second time."

Tsunade had found herself impressed. These women had completely robbed the disapproving people of their ability to control them. Words had no effect on them and they were more than willing to meet physical disrespect with violence. She looked to Tomi, the civilian woman that was with them, and wondered how that worked for her. She could also ignore verbal harassment but would not be able to defend herself physically against most people.

Shizune wondered the same and it turned out that one of the duties of the Hadakashi was to protect the Hadakashiko and the three warrior sisters were actually on the trip as the High Priestesses personal guard. "Not that Jiraiya would allow anything to happen to the gorgeous girl that never strayed more than 10 feet from him." Tsunade thought. Confusion coming as the thought left her with an odd combination feeling of jealousy and longing that she really did not want to deal with.

Neither did she want to deal with the slowly growing arousal she was feeling in the presence of the, frankly, oversexed women. She had never been attracted to women before, but the women with Jiraiya, especially Tomi ("The civilian!?", she thought), was causing insidiously subtle feelings in her. She had even quietly made the hand seal and muttered "kai" at one point to make sure she was not under a genjutsu.

Tomi's traveling outfit was designed to attract perverted attention. It was equal parts majestic and scandalous. As with most of the high priestess's wardrobe, the entire outfit was made of a sheer material that was completely see-through but still forced people to stare if they wanted to see her treasures. Something Tsunade noted the woman openly encouraged.

The dress ("If you could call it that", Tsunade thought as she caught herself staring again.) was red in color with gold accents. It was made of a top half and bottom half, connected at the front and back by gold rings, creating an hour glass shape that matched Tomi's own trim figure. The gold ring in front centered around her bellybutton, the one in back laying right in the crevice or her pert bottom.

The Top half of the "dress", was itself split into a left and right half, connected across her back and around her neck but unconnected at the front, except where both wrapped around the gold ring at her bellybutton. The back tapered to a point and connected the other ring. By some miracle Tsunade could not comprehend each half held a perfectly shaped breast securely, if not privately. The miracle only exacerbated by the fact that the inner swell of each breast, her chest and stomach remained uncovered.

The bottom half of the "dress", was similarly split into a front and back half, connected by a thin strip of material that rested, almost delicately, on Tomi's hips and leaving splits down its ankle length. The two halves hung delicately on Tomi's body held up only where the rings connected to the top half and draping across her ass in the back and hanging like a thin curtain in front of her beautiful cunt.

Tsunade was irritated at how much the women called attention to herself and that for some reason she was one of the people caught in her "chakra-less genjutsu". Tsunade was fascinated with the woman's breast, ass and pussy and could not explain why but in short order she was sure that if she was forced she could sketch all three in perfect detail.

Tsunade's irritation grew when leaving Tanzaku town had been easy considering how hard the town officials had worked to keep her there. Apparently, the head samurai wanted the Ero Sennin gone more than he wanted to harass the slug princess. And the appearance of the Yokubō no abatā and his retinue had left the casinos and businesses flush with ryō and so their owners no longer cared about trying to fleece the "legendary sucker".

… **On the Road to Konoha, Hi no Kuni (End of First Day of Trip Back to Konoha)**

The uniforms of the Hadakashi had undergone small changes since the sanctification of the Hentaishindo temple in Tanzaku Town. The half face, cat themed clay masks stayed but the shinobi sandals they wore had been replaced with 7 inch heeled versions. Each heel being a gold colored chakra metal spike that doubled as a weapon. In addition, the bodice/pants combo they wore was now made of a thinner stretchy material, instead of the leather-like material it had been made of before.

The top trim was also made of a thin line of, also gold colored, chakra metal shaped to curve around their breast and ending in a peak at the center of their chest, pointing at the tattoo that Tsunade suspected was a fūinjutsu seal of some kind. Tsunade also had suspicions about the metal band. Its only use seemed to be for providing structure the shape of the garment but the fact that it was made of chakra metal suggested another purpose she did not know.

The "new look" was completed with fingerless gloves that reached their biceps. The gloves had pattern sewn into them that matched the one on their chests. The thread was gold to match their heels and the trim and also matched the sash they still wore around their waists. Tsunade suspected that the thread in the gloves was also chakra metal and she could think of many uses for having chakra metal sewn into clothing but none of those lined up with the decorative pattern.

The new suit left even less to the imagination because the thinner material hugged the bodies of the three kunoichi allowing for clear viewing of the contours of their asses and pussies. Since they remained topless, most people likely would not consciously notice the changes but to Jiraiya their sex appeal had been magnified tenfold. Tsunade and Shizune did notice and to them the women might as well be naked for all the protection and modesty they lacked. "The chakra metal is used for decoration", Shizune complained.

While they traveled, Shizune continued her inquest into the lives of the Hadakashi warrior sisters, wondering about the practicality of moving through the world with your breasts exposed. As a mednin she was curious not only about the safety issue of fighting with your chest exposed and body lightly armored, but also the pain that must come from not having their breasts wrapped as they performed their shinobi duties.

That was when the newcomers learned about the seal that wasn't a seal that adorned their breasts and how it protected them better than any armor. And that the protection was magnified when their Yokubō no abatā kissed it for them. That had led to a demonstration that, once again, left Tsunade and Shizune slack jawed. The fact that the protection did indeed deflect kunai strikes and other martial attacks was astonishing but the near ridiculousness of it was that as the women jumped and moved, instead of flopping around the Hadakashi sister's breast wobbled erotically.

Shizune loved the sensual way the Hadakashi's bodies moved. Their perfectly shaped breasts and hard nipples were a marvel. In truth she had been clearly affected from the moment Jiraiya had pulled each woman into his arms and then planting soft kisses on the "seal that wasn't a seal". There was no mistaking the meaning of the shiver that ran through each masked woman when his lips met their skin and Shizune looked like she wanted some.

Tsunade was affected almost as much as her apprentice though she fought to hide it while trying to figure out where her attraction for the women was coming from. Another "kai" did nothing to prevent her eyes from being drawn to roaming over the sexy curves of the women. Unbidden memories also started to come to her and her mind traitorously admitted to her that this was not the first time she had appreciated the female form. Just the first time her appreciation had risen to lust.

The day had not just been about satisfying Shizune's curiosity or Tsunade fighting off her own encroaching bisexuality. As had become normal while Team 7 traveled with Team Pervert, the group dedicated much of the travel time to training or, in the case of Naruto and Jiraiya, discussing the intricacies of the Yondaime's jutsus and Naruto's greater understanding of fūinjutsu in between stoking the lust of their women by sparring with one another.

Tsunade and Shizune had fit in well with the group. Shizune, like Hinata and Sakura before her, became an instant disciple to the Jōnin kunoichi who had pledged their service to Jaraiya. While the future Hokage found herself impressed with the work ethic of the entire group. The three Hadakashi were Jōnin and even though they seemed to be pulled right out of the most perverted fantasies of adolescent men, they were highly skilled and committed to their jobs as kunoichi and protecting Tomi.

Watching them train Tsunade almost instantly recognized the unusually high skill and power of the three women. When she made inquiry, Jiraiya only told her that it was one of the many secrets she would be briefed on once she got to the village. Not only was it the first time since their reunion that he had denied her information, but it was confirmation of the rumors of Konohagakure' s increase in power. Rumors she had not truly paid attention to but clearly should have.

If what she saw in the Jōnin kunoichi made her curious, what she saw of Jiraiya's godson and his teammates made her want to end the leisurely nature of their trip and go full speed back to Konoha. As her future apprentice, Tsunade had paired the pinkette with Shizune when it came time for spars and watched as the girl more than kept up with the woman.

Tsunade actually thought the Chunin was holding back. Fortunately, Tsunade didn't think Shizune noticed. That was true as the woman was thoroughly distracted by her fascination with the Hadakashi women. Tsunade did notice, though, and the doubt she had that she could beat her new apprentice grew a bit watching them spar. The same was true of the skill of the Hyūga princess though she was being handled easier by Jōnetsu.

If the Pinkette and the Hyūga was impressive Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto was simply terrifying. The boy reminded her of both Itachi and Kakashi and that was awe inspiring. Taking a step back, all six of the shinobi with Jiraiya should be considered prodigies which made no sense. Perhaps Jiraiya had been able to recruit former prodigy kunoichi to his cause, but Naruto and his girls were on a team together and the team selection committee would not have put them together when they could have made three teams out of separating them.

That night after making camp. Tsunade had been unsure how to feel. She was confused about the high skill of everyone and why it was the one thing Jiraiya would not talk about. And then the topless Jōnin flittered back into her mind. She had tried not judge but found it hard not to be surprised at the focus and skill of Jiraiya's companions, forcing herself to not fall into the trap of considering them "useless sluts" as her one-time academy sensei would have.

She had tried to focus on evaluating the shinobi from the perspective of their future leader, if for no other reason than to avoid thinking about what was likely happening in the other tents. Tomi, who had stayed by her side the entire day offering quiet clarifications, made no secret about what would be happening in the tent and that each of the Hadakashi were expected to join them as their watch duty rotated. Tsunade had not wanted to think about why she felt another pang of jealousy over that.

… **On the Road to Konoha, Hi no Kuni (Day Two of Trip Back to Konoha)**

The second day was the most embarrassing day of Tsunade's life as she, by proximity, learned more about the joys of sex, lust and perversion than she had every known or imagined. Shizune had continued her inquiry into the lives of the Hadakashi and by extension the Hadakashiko and the entirety of the Hentaishindo. That had led to a graphic discussion and Tsunade almost lost it when Hinata and Sakura had been able to join and add to that conversation.

Her plan for the day when she had awoken was to pay close attention to the training that was going on and see if she could discover what was happening and why everyone seemed so strong. The night before, she was ashamed to admit, she had tried to really analyze what was happening around her but kept losing her concentration every time she heard the woman on watch rotate, knowing what it meant for the one coming off duty. Since she had a very clear understanding of the bodies of all the women, that distraction was unerringly accurate.

Her plans for the day were derailed by the conversations going on around her. The graphic nature of the descriptions left both her and Shizune completely red faced. To protect her mind, Tsunade tried to focus on the reported chakra effects of membership in one of the sects, but her mednin stoicism could not survive under the onslaught of Hinata describing her favorite position, the story of Ekusutashī's most powerful orgasm or how much Sakura enjoyed the taste of Naruto's release.

The last inspiring Kanraku to describe which men in the village "tasted" the best. Tsunade recognized way too many names for her comfort. Shizune, on the other hand, had looked way too interested in the list. Tsunade had decided that at some point she would have to speak with Shizune. The girl's interest was clearly peaked in regard to the religion but Tsunade thought it was her responsibility to make sure her apprentice considered thing fully before acting.

At the same time Tsunade had to fight with her own feelings. In the battle of prudes versus perverts, most people thought Tsunade was a "card carrying" prude. Stories of her violent reactions to Jiraiya's perverted words and behavior was almost as legendary as anything the sannin had done as a group. The truth was, Tsunade didn't particularly care.

Tsunade like most kunoichi of her generation had been raised under the Utatane Koharu school of seduction and as a "daughter of a clan" had been spared some of the more distasteful kunoichi assignments in her very early Genin career. But her Jōnin sensei, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was not a coddler and it was not long before she saw the nasty side of her chosen profession. Hiruzen's Team 7 was an assault team so even with the protections removed she never had to do "those" missions but she was made very aware of them and their necessity at times.

Tsunade was of the "live and let live" mindset and her response to Jiraiya was more a symptom of their personal relationship than any grander view on his behavior. However, being in the presence of the raw erotic power Jiraiya now radiated both as part of his chakra and just with his physical presence, was causing her to think things that she had only ever thought in dreams. And she was finding it difficult to control those thoughts. Like how sexy Jiraiya was and how appealing his strength and power was to someone like her.

Tsunade also found herself randomly imagining herself and Jiraiya in one of the situations the Hinata and Sakura were describing. Since their stories typically involved two girls and one guy she was surprised to find herself casting Tomi in the role of the missing girl. She purposely ignored the pleasant butterflies in her stomach that occurred when her imagined liaisons turned to Tomi and her exploring each other's body while Jiraiya looked on.

… **On the Road to Konoha, Hi no Kuni (Final Day of Trip Back to Konoha)**

Tsunade's concern about Shizune's interest was proven prophetic when day three found the girl leaving her tent in a modified version of her normal outfit. Normally, Shizune wore a simple ankle length kimono in a dark blue or gray with a light-colored obi. As with most kunoichi she wrapped her breasts in bandages and wore the mesh "body stocking" over it. Typically, her only sexiness came from the slightly high-heeled sandals she wore and the fact that when moving quickly her uncovered leg would move out of the gap in the front of the kimono.

Overnight, Shizune had, apparently, committed herself to Hentaishindo and with the help of Hinata and Sakura had modified her outfit. The kimono was still ankle length, but no longer required a quick movement to expose her legs because slits had been cut in either side of it. Each slit was cut to her hip putting both legs on display even when standing still. Now when she moved, teasing peeks of the curve of her ass was easily noticeable.

Also, much of the material of the kimono had been cut back so that the two sides no longer overlapped and instead just met. As well having the lining ripped out. It was still held together by her obi, but now left a small gap that gave enticing views of her skin from her neck to her crotch while the, now thin, garment hugged the rest of her delectable body.

The views were made more enticing by the fact that Shizune had not wrapped her chest, leaving her body stocking as the only means of support for her healthy D cup breasts. Through the gap and the slits up the side of the kimono, Tsunade could see that legs of the body stocking had been cut off so that it fit like Sakura's leotard.

Tsunade's sharp eyes were sure that she was also no longer wearing any panties beneath the mesh either. Surprisingly, while she was showing more skin, her intimate places were not clearly visible. Tsunade was impressed at how much was covered considering how much material was removed. Unsurprisingly, at this point, Tsunade also took note that Shizune had replaced her simple heel with the spiked version that the Hadakashi wore.

Tsunade found herself oddly unbothered, despite her earlier intention to advise her apprentice to be more circumspect. With her recent self-revelations about not suppressing her ambition and the education on the joys of sex from her traveling companions she found herself leaning more toward the freedom offered by the perverts. She also admitted to herself that Shizune's new look actually left her more mobile (physically free) if she found herself in combat.

Comparing the six, now seven, women perverts and the comfort they had in themselves as they moved through the day to someone like her old seduction sensei was night and day. "I won't join them, but I won't judge" she decided to herself. Once again, she had to ignore the voice in her head that was indignant that she would decide not to join them. She went through the morning watching them train and listening to discussions about the wonderful sex Shizune had the night before.

"WHAT?" Tsunade's mind ground to a halt. Luckily her exclamation had happened in her head, but the rising tide of a feeling she refused to accurately identify was about to cause an incident. She was half way through trying to decide whether to slap Shizune or murder Jiraiya when Tomi whispered into her ear, "She was with Ekusutashī, last night."

"WHAT?" Tsunade's mind screamed again as it was completely derailed. That time her exclamation was verbal as well as mental and all of the women looked at her with a smirk, including Shizune, while the men pretended to be oblivious, though the smile tugging at Jiraiya's lip and the fact Naruto would not look at her spoke truth to the lie.

Tsunade sighed. "You know I had achieved peace and clarity." She said with a bit of exasperation. Jiraiya shifted position to walk next to his friend. They were silent for a moment before Tsunade softly said, "You've truly achieved your dream." He wistfully replied, "Not completely". For once she refused to pretend she didn't know what he was talking about, but still remained silent. The tension was thick and none of the people surrounding the two made a sound.

Everyone knew about Jiraiya's feelings for Tsunade. His books were far from subtle about it and similarly the man had made his affection clear since their last year of the academy. For her part, Tsunade refused to deal with it and would interrupt Jiraiya every time he attempted to confess his feelings to her. Usually with a punch to his face. It was one of the rare events that would bring a smile to their teammate, Orochimaru.

So, it was no surprise that when the Perverted Sage started to confess again, "Tsunade, I…", Tsunade's fist almost instinctually flew to strike him. However, instead of allowing her blow to land as he had done for years, he caught her fist. Tsunade's eyes widened. She had always pulled her punch, a bit, but she never imagined that all those times he could have stopped her. But there was no mistaking the look in his eye.

"Tsunade. I have come to peace about who I am and how I feel." He said, still gripping her fist firmly. "I am deeply in love with two women. Tomi is one. She saved me from my own self-loathing and helped me find myself and you are the second. Whatever good I have done in this world was inspired by my love for you." Then he brought her fist to his lips and kissed it before releasing her and walking away.

He had said it. And worse Tsunade had heard it. She didn't know why actually hearing his confession made so much difference, but she had been right to do everything in her power to avoid it because his words hit her soul like one of her own punches. She looked at the group that had positioned themselves in a protective circle around the two of them and saw eyes dance away from meeting her own.

Tsunade slouched and lowered her eyes before gathering herself and moving to walk next to him again. "All these beautiful women willing to fuck you and you want me. For what? Is love truly enough?" She said with a slightly disbelieving chuckle. Jiraiya turned and looked intensely in her eyes before saying, "I do love you, but make no mistake, I want to fuck you as well." Tsunade's heart lurched and she was glad she wasn't drinking. He had been a pervert for the entire time she knew him, but he had never said something so lewd directly to her before.

He didn't stop either, "I want to do things with you and to you that are nothing short of total perversion. I want to be in you, on you, below you, behind you and on top of you. I want to drink from you and cover you in me essence. I want to worship your body, your oppai. I want to share you with Tomi and spend days watching the two of you pleasuring each other. Then I want to lick Tomi's sweat from your body and yours from hers. Then I want to do it over and over again till I take my dying breath."

Unfortunately (or not), his words caused her to think about it and she found herself picturing each action as he described it. "Like in his books, like Hinata-chan described." She thought before she could stop herself. She knew for a fact that she would never feel as worshiped a she would under the man's care. She only had to read his books to know that. And even though she had denied it for years, she had read his books.

Jiraiya kept pushing, refusing to allow her a moment to get her bearings. "I want you to be the high priestess of the Hadakashi." He said to her. "You can't be serious?" she said warily after looking at the gorgeous, topless women and blanching. But her body betrayed her with a shiver. Then Images of herself meeting with the civilian council or another kage or the Daimyo with her tits out forced Its way into her head and without warning a perverted giggle escaped her mouth.

The entire group stopped and looked at her. Her face was as shocked as everyone else's. For true believers in Hentaishindo, the perverted giggle only happened when one had a moment of perfect synchrony with the Yokubō no kami. Shizune had just learned about it in her "studies" the night before and looked at her sensei in happiness. Tsunade did not know why everyone was looking at her happily, but she did know what the sound she just made implied.

Still pushing his advantage, Jiraiya moved back into Tsunade's personal space smiling to himself in small victory when he noticed her nipples harden beneath her gi. "Don't decide now, Hokage-sama." He said, happy to the first to call her that, "Let me seduce you properly." Jiraiya had always been handsome and charming but his extreme, unfocused, perverseness had made it easy to resist. The new Jiraiya who had found balance was much harder to deny.

Without warning the thought entered her mind, "Haven't you already seduced me?" As if to answer her the man in front of her brought his lips right next to her ear and said in a low voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "And the first time I push into you, I want to be looking into your real face. That's the one I want see orgasm, so I will know you're finally mine." Then his hand grazed her hard nipple.

His words proved that perverseness used in the right dosage could have a profound effect. Normally, someone mentioning her true appearance would receive violence in return, similar to anyone who touched her, but Jiraiya's tone was so sexy that Tsunade swooned and the touch of his hands across her nipple caused her wet pussy to clutch. If it was anyone else she would not believe that they could look at her true self with lust, but she believed Jiraiya. More importantly her body believed him.

Before she could fall, Jiraiya arms wrapped around her and he kissed her. It was not hard or passionate which was surprising considering what he had been saying and how obviously his words were affecting the large breasted blonde. No, the kiss was soft, barely lasting 5 seconds. Before Jiraiya pulled away leaving Tsunade standing, if barely.

Naruto and his two girls watched in stunned silence as after a minute, everyone started moving again as if nothing had happened. It was clear something had because Tomi was under Jiraiya's arm and both looked content. The Hadakashi also had contented smiles on their faces. Shizune looked smug, as did Tonton, somehow. And Tsunade looked contemplative. Naruto turned and kissed each of his girls and said, "I'm glad we figured ourselves out before we got old."

The two girls and Shizune chuckled but Naruto had to side step a couple of thrown kunai from Tsunade. Naruto's reply of "Be careful, Baa-chan" earned him two more kunai. He dodged those as well but kept quiet since one had been aimed at his manhood. Tsunade decided not to do that again since she received a bit of killing intent from his two lovers for that last one.

… **Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni**

Nothing memorable happened for the rest of the journey to Konaha, but something was different. Tsunade was still deep in thought but with each step, she seemed to become more comfortable with whatever she was thinking about. Since it didn't take a genius to know what she was thinking about and she had unconsciously started shift her hips as she walked, Team Pervert quietly became more pleased with what they believed was success at their secondary mission.

When the group came crested the final hill that brought the Konoha into view, Tsunade gasped at the sight. Whatever she had been thinking about Jiraiya had fled her mind as the primary reason for her return to Konoha forcefully made itself known in her mind as she looked over Konohagakure no Sato. Her eyes swept over the entire value and mountain range with widening eyes.

Her traveling companions believed that it was because she hadn't seen the village in so long, but her words showed that more was going on. "Are we at war?" Team 7 and Team Pervert looked at the village and understood why, for someone who had not been around for a while, the question had been asked. The reawakened "will of fire" had left the village looking like a fortress. If he wasn't dead, Danzō would have been proud.

The gate had been moved forward and was now attached to the walls of the mountain range surrounding the valley, on both sides. The wall cutting across the entire entrance on the crescent shaped mountains made entrance into the village through the forest of death no longer possible. The facing wall was taller than the old one at 20 feet and had a wall walk wide enough for patrols.

On top of the stone wall were parapets and battlements and all along the wall Eternal Chunin patrolled. Tsunade could see that behind the walls, the old towers that dotted the forest of death had been extended higher and her eyes could see patrolling shinobi there as well.

"No" Naruto replied to Tsunade's question, proudly, "It's just the will of fire in action" Tsunade turned to Jiraiya, Naruto's excitement made sense, she had been young once too. But looking at Jiraiya and one of his rare serious faces, she could see that Konoha had seriously stepped up its protection despite not being at war. The Sandaime she remembered did not believe in such displays of power, but obviously things had changed.

She looked back at the scene. Despite the obvious show of force, traffic was moving easily through the gate and no one had that look of eminent attack that accompanied a war footing. Nor did anyone have the fearful look of someone living under a tyrant. "He re-empowered the Eternal Chunin, too" Jiraiya said. And Tsunade's eyes snapped back to him before looking at all the patrolling shinobi. "They were never that big" she said in a bit of awe. "what had the Sandaime been up to." She thought.

The "Eternal Chunin" were not just two people. They were a unit. All members of the unit were skilled at Jōnin level, if not higher, but all had given up the ability to be promoted to act as guards to the entrances of Konoha. The unit had begun organically when two men, Hirose Taro and Kano Botanhad, declined promotion from the Shodai Hokage.

Guarding the gates was a Chunin assignment, but Taro and Botanhad saw it is as vital to the defense of the village and so committed to remaining Chunin, so they could keep the duty. Senju Hashirama did not discover their motivation. The two men had recruited many of their fellow gate guards, going so far as patrolling the forest of death while off duty, an activity that increased their power and skill as much as tested their commitment.

No one noticed that the C rank mission was only being assigned to a specific cadre of shinobi. Eventually, it was Namikaze Minato that finally noticed. He made the effort to investigate when her learned that the cadre was not being promoted. Further investigation showed him that most, if not all the shinobi in the "cadre" should have been Jōnin and thought that the civilian or shinobi council had found a way to "punish" political rivals, their supporters or their families.

He called them all to his office and was shocked to hear that the men and women had decided on their own to limit their own career in the name of putting the best possible people in a position that was undervalued by the shinobi command structure. The Yondaime was impressed with their passion and commitment to Konoha and named them the "Eternal Chunin" and made their corps a recognized one in Konoha.

By decree of the Hokage, the men and women of the Eternal Chunin would be the permanent guard at the gates and would never achieve any rank above Chunin. The C-rank mission would be permanently theirs and was hung in their barracks. The unit would regularly train with the ANBU and in the rank and file were shown the highest honor and respect for their sacrifice in the name of protecting the village.

When the Kyuubi attacked the unit was decimated as the Eternal Chunin threw themselves at the creature that would dare breach the outer perimeter of the village. In the end they had lost almost 80% of their number. When the Yondaime died and the Sandaime lost his will of fire, the Eternal Chunin had remained vigilant but no longer had the support of the village leadership.

Many times, however, they had acted on their own in the defense of the village even, in some cases, losing their lives in actions no one knew about. Five of them had lost their lives to Orochimaru's incursion during the Chunin exams and they had been the primary rival to ROOT, preventing a few of Danzō's plans from bearing fruit.

When the Sandaime rediscovered his fire, the Eternal Chunin had been re-discovered and the Sandaime had met with them personally to thank them. "This village was sick for a long time and you kept the jackals away." He had told them. Yuyu had put her writing skill to great effect and in short order the Eternal Chunin became second only to the ANBU in the imaginations of the young in Konoha.

It took a special person to seek out the duty though. The ANBU operated inside and outside of the village. Shinobi that took missions and promotions got into bingo books and got recognition. The Eternal Chunin watched the walls. Not one member had ever left to pursue something else. Most would have an entire career and never receive individual recognition. But by the time Yuyu was done, the unit was not just respected as true shinobi but were known by every member of the village.

Eternal Chunin volunteered for their assignment. To them it was both a duty and an honor. Each day the two at the gate were the last two people shinobi saw before they left on missions and the first they saw when returning. They were also the ones that received the first notice of lost shinobi. Sometimes even receiving their bodies. Members had held shinobi as they died, having used only will to survive long enough to reach the gate and hand over their completed mission scroll.

Today was not such a somber event. Instead it was the type of event that gave succor to the souls of the men and women who committed themselves to stand watch when friends and colleagues went out and sometimes didn't come back. Today they got to receive the last remaining sannin after she had been gone for seven years. Four members of the Eternal Chunin met "Lady Tsunade" at the gate. They were in full diplomatic regalia and the banner of the Senju clan hung beneath that of Konoha.

Tsunade had to admit that with her pain and anger finally unburdened, she could once again appreciate the village of her berth. That feeling of connection was made more poignant when after she announced herself the guard brought forth an old book and showed her where she had last signed out and indicated that she was to sign herself back in. She ran her fingers over the angry scribbling of her name and signed back in. The calmness of the second signature showing in simple form the extent of the journey she had travelled.


	36. Rebirth of a Nation

Most people in the elemental nations are not shinobi. Despite the fame and notoriety of the shinobi villages and the shinobi that live in them, shinobi make up less than 15% of the population of the world. The most well-known of the shinobi forces are members of clans that share kekkei genkai. For these clans there is a question, only ever whispered among the civilian, as to how they sustain themselves.

If you were to ask the 85%, with no shinobi present, they would share with you the many rumors that swirl around the powerful chakra users in their midst. The primary rumor around clans is that they commit incest. Kekkei genkai are known to be passed down through the clan and every civilian that has ever seen a shinobi family with an easily identifiable bloodline limit, instantly notices that both the mother and father have the gift. Thus incest.

They are correct that Incest does exist within the shinobi world. It is fairly common and more so in clans with kekkei genkai. However, incest is not commonly practiced strictly despite the rumors. Of the 8 clans in Konoha known to have kekkei genkai, only two practice incest as a rule. The Hyūga clan and the Uchiha clan; before its near extinction. Of the remaining 6 clans, all practice incest but more as a function of how closely clan children are raised with each other.

The Hyūgas and the Uchihas have deeply entrenched beliefs about their own superiority and the superiority of their bloodline limits. So, they are very strict in the control of those bloodlines. The Hyūgas accomplish this by use of their branch family, from which the main family marry. Through meticulous tracking of lineages, they keep most marriages to at least 2nd cousins within the branch and no closer than 4th cousins for the main line. The Uchiha clan was not so discerning and arranged marriages based on power and ability independent of familial connection.

Most geneticist and genealogist would tell you that the system described, especially in the case of the Hyūgas and the Uchihas, is not sustainable. If the 85% was asked once again they would assign the inconsistency to chakra. Chakra was not only a super power but a cure all in the understanding of the people. The truth is not a secret but also rarely spoken about.

In fact, clan members, even in the Hyūga and Uchiha, regularly marry people outside their clan. But that is not the rarely spoken about truth. The truth is that becoming pregnant by a person with a kekkei genkai can gift that kekkei genkai to the impregnated woman if the father has his chakra "flared" at the moment of conception. Naturally, the arrogance of clans like the Uchiha and the Hyūga considered such a person unworthy but they both were known to secretly pull outsiders into the clan at the lowest levels to maintain genetic diversity.

… **Hokage Tower, Konohagakure, Hi no Kuni**

Senju Tsunade sat across from her old sensei, the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Her return to the village had not quite inspired a parade but it also did not go unacknowledged. She had been greeted at the gate by the Eternal Chunin with honor and then handed over to four ANBU that had escorted her to the Hokage tower with similar honors. She had been handed off to a separate group of ANBU at the Hokage tower where all the staff had been standing in formation to greet her.

Of course, the entire time Team 7 and "Team Pervert" had been with her. Jiraiya had decided once he saw the minor fanfare that he would get the rising Hokage to crack in front of the people and had been whispering a steady stream of depraved things he hoped to do to her once she accepted him in her life. His voice didn't carry past her guard, but Shizune had been unable to stop blushing.

Tsunade had barely kept it together by focusing on how impressed she was by the ANBU's ability to seemingly ignore the Ero-Sennin completely. The 5 minutes he spent on his tongue and her ass should have caused some reaction in the ANBU and she would have thought them members of Danzō's ROOT if not for the fact that they were nodding in agreement to Tomi, who was whispering in response to Jiraiya about how much her "future sister" would enjoy it.

Tsunade blinked to chase away the very distracting thoughts as she was briefed by Hiruzen about the process of naming her his successor. Team 7 had been dismissed as had all of Team Pervert sans Jiraiya, who the Sandaime said he was positioning to become one of her advisors. "Hopefully your former teammate will not grow to be the disappointment mine became once they became advisors." Hiruzen was saying.

"Until you are confirmed by the Daimyo and the councils, I cannot give you the full Hokage briefing but as a high-ranking Shinobi of the leaf, there are some things that you need to know." Hiruzen went on to say. Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya who nodded to tell her she was about the receive some of the answers to the questions he would not answer during their trip.

And the answers had been amazing. She was told the full story of Orochimaru's failed invasion. The discovery of a spy through Mitarashi Anko's investigation into corruption at the Shinobi Academy, learning the spy was part of a ring run by Orochimaru, their plan to invade and destroy Konoha and kill the Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto's mastery of fūinjutsu and his usurping of the curse of heaven seal. That every leaf nin carries the new seal, its effects and its use in not only squashing the invasion but making Konoha vastly more powerful.

"Whenever you are ready, Naruto-kun will be waiting for you in the tattoo parlor at the Namikaze compound to put the seal on you as well." Hiruzen said, "You have to decide where you'd like it to be placed." Tsunade nodded but then turned beat red when Jiraiya interjected, "She'll be putting it on her inner thigh covered by cat paw prints." Tsunade did not know what to say when her old sensei looked at her and she knew this was a big moment. All she had to do was say no and call Jiraiya a pervert. Instead she just blushed harder.

"Right." Hiruzen said after giving her enough time to contradict the declaration and Tsunade screamed in her own mind at the smirk the man held. He went on to give more details about both the Namikaze and Uzumaki clans that had not been OK'd for discussion outside the village and then instructed Tsunade to go re-open the Senju clan compound and get cleaned up and relax. "When you are ready, you can go to the Namikaze district to, [giggle], get your seal and tattoo".

No matter how much her pride wanted her to, she could not bring herself to deny that she would be doing as Jiraiya wanted in the placement of her seal and tattoo. And her former sensei knew it. For some reason that was when her mind decided to remind her that the office she was in also had at least 4 ANBU and they had witnessed her accepting Jiraiya's "suggestion". They would also know where her seal was placed.

Deciding that she had to, at least, establish her authority, she turned and punched Jiraiya hard sending him to crash into the far wall before bowing to the Hokage and leaving the room. No one, for a moment, doubted Tsunade's power or qualifications for the position of Hokage, but they all nodded in satisfaction that she had retaliated against the man who had taken such a liberty. The man in question was smiling despite being unconscious and Hiruzen knew why. Tsunade had punished him for saying that out loud but did not rescind her acceptance of his wishes.

… **Namikaze Clan District, Konohagakure**

Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto walked through the main gates into his clan district. The place was still empty but, unlike the Uchiha district, it did not feel as if it was dying and instead felt like it was just being born. It was not just the new buildings and roads. Naruto could almost feel the energy of birth and hope for the future.

He knew Hinata and Sakura felt it as well because of the way they had sighed in joy when they entered and snuggled into each side of him. The place felt like home. He had been gone from the village for almost 2 months and even before that most of his attention had been on his duties as head of the Uzumaki Clan and the re-opening of Uzushiogakure. He intended to dedicate some time to the Namikaze clan, despite it being much smaller and having vastly less issues to handle.

Uzu was in the capable hands of Inume and he was getting daily, sometimes hourly, reports of the success of the announcement of the revival of the whirlpool village. The final counts were in and the Uzukaatsu branch remained the most populated with around 30 people, the Uzusane had 15 and the Uzuchika had 10. While no Uzumaki had been found, Naruto took tiny solace in the fact that he was not the only villager without red hair.

All the infrastructure was complete and the kitsune had even gotten a few farms up and running. While the village was completed and open, the hardest and most important part was yet to be done. Uzu needed to regain its knowledge. The clan libraries were open, and everyone was working to either re-learn the history of the clans, relearn the skills or both. The kitsune who had decided to leave the summon realm and live as members of the clan were part of this effort.

It would take time to not only repopulate but re-learn so Naruto allowed his mind to drift to the Namikaze, as he had promised himself. He wrapped his hands around his wives and drew them in close. The two girls snuggled into him and then Hinata asked the question he had been pondering. "Naruto-kun, tell us what you have planned for the clan."

"I have some thoughts but what do the two of you think. The first question is whether we should have branches like the Hyūga, create sub clans like the Uzumaki or just leave it as one giant mash-up like the Inuzuka." Naruto asked. Hinata's face told him instantly that one direction was not an option. "No to anything like the Hyūga clan. That method will not exist for them shortly."

It was the most heated he had heard her when speaking to him and Naruto just nodded since he was not surprised by her reaction. Sakura said "I don't think there is anything wrong with it but I don't like the Uzu method either. I don't want any of my children to not have your name and I want that for Hinata, Temari and Kin as well."

"Sounds like that decision is made then." Naruto chuckled. They had arrived at the door to Temari's home. They knew Kin would be there as well since the two girls had practically married each other in his absence. Temari and Kin had begun a relationship with each other bonding over their mutual love of their Shojin-sama. Kin had even decided to move out of the concubine suite Naruto had provided for her and into Temari's home.

The two had received word that Naruto was on his way and eagerly awaited the arrival of him and the two future clan wives. So, without having to knock the door opened and the returning shinobi found themselves wrapped up into hugs and kisses and a bit of groping of easily reachable intimate parts. Kin and Temari led the trio to their bath house and stripped them while asking them to tell them what they could of their mission and journey.

Getting clean could be a relatively quick process or it could be a long one. After his long time away and his girls' apparent eagerness, Naruto chose the long one. The bathhouse was similar to the hot springs in that it had a rinse and wash shower, a soaking bath and a marble wash and massage table. Each area was oversized for a typical home and could fit all five of the lovers with room for two or three more. With all of them naked Hinata and Sakura allowed Temari and Kin to be with Naruto since they had been with him while they were away.

The two Namikaze concubines were very appreciative and gave long kisses to their Mistresses before moving to Naruto in the rinsing shower to rub their body against his as he rinsed himself of. They followed him into the steaming bath sitting across from Hinata and Sakura who settled in after their own rinse.

While the three shinobi relaxed and told of their adventures, Temari snuggled into Naruto's left side while Kin straddled his right leg and pressed her body into Naruto's. She only barely listened to the tale as she kept herself busy rubbing her master's body and using her hand to gentle massage his manhood. She would punctuate her actions with soft kisses against his neck. She was not rushed and kept her handling gentle as her goal was relaxation and not passion.

Passion would be later. Kin wanted to be pregnant. Her and Temari spent the 2 months Naruto was away dreaming about raising their children together and Kin did not want their ages to drift too far apart. She was already wet and willing for him, but the life her Naruto-Shojin had granted was one she had not even dared dream about. So she would wait and serve him until the time was right.

She would never regret the skills and ability she had gained by being a shinobi but that was a life of necessity for her. Now she had a life that she chose, and she would always choose the love and peace she had now over the fear and violence of her old life. She was practically a wife to the head of a powerful, wealthy and politically connected clan but none of that mattered to the simply joys of peace and tranquility she had achieved with Naruto and Temari.

When the scalding water had done its job, they moved to the marble table. It was large and dominated the room even more than the large stone tub. All three returning shinobi fit on it easily. Hinata and Sakura continued to insist that Kin and Temari take their time with Naruto and washed and massaged each other, taking turns.

Naruto was washed and massaged by both his concubines. They covered their own bodies with soap before using sponges and their breasts to clean him thoroughly. Then using their shinobi skills to rub the tension out of his tightly corded muscles. For Naruto it was an odd combination of relaxing and enflaming as the sexy naked women stoked his lust and desire with every action they took.

The soap was rinsed off and re-applied twice before they were done but instead of returning to the tub for a final soak as Hinata and Sakura did, Naruto's simmering lust final came to a boil. Knowing her true desire, Naruto focused on Kin. A moment later a pleasured moan was heard from Kin's throat. Temari watched as her master attacked one breast then the other and then her eyes widened as his unbridled passion unfolded before her. She found herself following in its wake as Naruto carried the now impaled Kin to the bedroom.

Her eyes were so riveted to the scene that she had forgotten the two women who held rank over her and who were, themselves, skilled at drawing sapphic pleasure from her body. That was until they both grabbed her. "when did they get here" was the last thought she had before she felt two mouths latch onto her nipples and two fingers start to wrestle with each other inside of her body.

… **Tattoo Parlor, Namikaze Clan District, Konohagakure**

The entire Namikaze family gathered in the clan tattoo parlor to greet the future Hokage. Senju Tsunade of the sannin was not just a hero in Konohagakure but was a hero to kunoichi all over the elemental nations. Both Kin and Temari were excited to meet her and in addition to the fabulous love making they had received and Kin and Temari's hope and belief that she had become pregnant from Naruto's effort, the day was turning out to be one of the best in the young women's lives.

In addition to the two clan concubines, Jiraiya had found Anko, Yūgao, Kurenai and Hanna and gotten them an invitation to see Tsunade receive her seal. The four girls had met Tsunade when they were young and like generations of girls before and after considered her a true kunoichi to look up to. Before Tsunade had lost all hope and left the village she had also taken a personal interest in each of them, making their admiration and respect for her unique.

Whether it was Anko dealing with Orochimaru's betrayal, Yūgao's desire and struggle to become an ANBU, Kurenai's secret mission to stop the perversions or Hanna's quest to replace her mother as the second female Inuzuka clan head, the four women had all considered Tsunade an inspiration and had modeled themselves on how they imagined she would behave if faced with their challenges.

All four were excited to bring her up to speed on their lives, eager to feel her pride in their accomplishments and support for their goals. Tsunade making them feel like Genin again, eager to impress their sensei with the new jutsu they had learned. Anko wanted to brag about her "ascension" to a Yokubō no Yogensha (Prophet of Lust), while Yūgao wanted to tell her about her work as an ANBU and Hanna wanted to tell the story of how she came to have three ninken companions.

Kurenai was the most eager to speak to the future Hokage. Learning that the "Hokage-baka" had decided to retire and pass the hat to Tsunade had been like a lighthouse in a storm to the woman. She had been having more trouble than she expected integrating herself with the perverts. Her reputation and her lack of real seduction training acting as a hinderance. But with Tsunade as Hokage, hope had returned because Kurenai was sure she had been given the most powerful of allies.

No one besides Jiraiya and Tsunade were aware of the discussions that had happened in the Hokage's office. Yūgao could have known but she was not on duty that day. Of the ladies, only Shizune was suspicious, at first. She had spent 7 years with Tsunade and could see that she was not acting herself. Specifically, Tsunade kept blushing randomly. That plus the fact that Jiraiya would not stop smiling told her something had happened.

Less than two weeks previously Shizune could have honestly said that she had never seen her sensei blush. And while she had seen the woman blush a lot under the perpetually perverted and lewd conversations they had been part of, she was once again experiencing something new. Tsunade was blushing on her own.

Since meeting back up with the blonde and her perverted old teammate, the man had not said a word or made a gesture that would cause a blush and yet Tsunade's face kept flushing. Shizune had even witnessed the woman let out a perverted giggle and desperately wanted to know what thought her sensei had that put her in perfect sync with the God of Lust.

The four women had also noticed and while two of them gave it little thought, considering it normal life changes that happen when people haven't seen each other in a long time, Anko and Kurenai both started to look at Tsunade with growing suspicion equal to Shizune's. Whatever initial deductions were being drawn caused Anko to smile and Kurenai to frown. Funnily enough both women were drawing the same conclusions.

"Welcome, baa-chan" Naruto said with a happy smile and was surprised that he received no recrimination from the woman he had spontaneously adopted as a surrogate grandmother. Her scowling and yelling at him for his nickname for her was part of their game and he was a bit worried that she had not responded to him. For a moment her wondered if he had done something to upset her.

"What did you call me?" Tsunade suddenly exclaimed and Naruto smiled in joy that she had just been distracted. For her part Tsunade smiled as well. Her mind was whirling but she wanted to cultivate the relationship she was growing with the blond. Not that she would admit that out loud. Then her mind halted as she remembered what she was about to ask him to do and her faced flushed again and another perverted giggle escaped her throat.

All eyes were on her and Naruto looked to his godfather with a healthy dose of respect. He had watched the man seducing Tsunade over a few days but to inspire perverted thoughts without doing anything was to be commended. "I would like to introduce you to Temari-chan and Kin-chan. Temari-chan is a Namikaze clan slave and my concubine, and Kin-chan is a second concubine." The girls in question stepped forward and bowed, faces flushing a little at their introduction.

Both Shizune and Tsunade knew the circumstances of Temari's enslavement to Naruto as well as Naruto's plan for her so they did not look at the girl in pity and instead just offered her a happy smile as Naruto introduced each of them. Everyone else present was already well aware of Naruto's acquisition during the failed invasion and their opinions where well known. Temari was just happy to not see disappointment or pity in the eyes of one of her heroes.

Naruto, perhaps unknowingly, found a way to squeeze even more loyalty out of the former sand princess when he announced. "Temari's shinobi career is pretty much ended but her usefulness hasn't. Due to what happened with her brother, she has shown an interest in fūinjutsu and I have allowed her to begin to learn. She is doing remarkably well, especially with the shadow clones she can now produce because of the same heaven seal you are about to get."

Temari didn't blush but her eyes sparkled at the look of respect and interest Naruto had garnered for her from both sannin. "So, she will be assisting in the placement of your seals as part of her instruction. Since I intend to continue as a shinobi, once she is up to speed, she will be running the shop while I am away." Naruto finished and both he and his pregnant concubine looked a bit confused at Tsunade's returning blush. The confusion stretched to all the women, leaving only Anko with a growing smile.

Deciding to move on, Naruto led the group to a hydraulic chair and, assuming Tsunade would go first, asked her, "Have you decided where you want the seal to be placed. Hokage-jiji chose his forearm and covered it with the village leaf symbol. We can cover it with anything and we even have a book of pictures that show what other people have done if you want ideas. Kin, wanting to be helpful fetched the book and held it in case Tsunade or Shizune chose to look through it.

[Silence]…

A pressure entered the room and all but two people were confused by it. It wasn't violent or fear inducing. It was sexual, powerfully sexual. Sexual tension was something Naruto and Shizune had become very familiar with recently and with the direction the village had gone, it took no time for everyone to also recognize the type of aura that suffused the area. What was odd about it was that it just appeared out of nowhere and for no apparent reason. The only thing any of them could tell was the source.

Tsunade's mind was in a panic. She had looked to Jiraiya expecting him to once again embarrass her by boldly declaring where her seal was to be placed and what was to cover it. She had assumed that was why he had gathered the four kunoichi that she had once mentored. But when she looked at him she instantly knew that he was not going to say a word.

For a brief moment she thought that she had been pranked, that Jiraiya had only said those things in the Hokage's office to embarrass her and rile her up. But then the truth slammed into her mind. Jiraiya was absolutely serious about where she was to place her seal. But he wanted her to ask for it. He wanted her to walk to her own execution without a fight. To embrace her own humiliation and declare herself publicly.

She knew that this was it. This was where she decided. She could have the seal put on her arm and cover it with the Senju clan symbol and finally and fully reject him. Or she could do as he had commanded and no longer be able to hide behind harsh words and punches to his face. Because if she chose to do as he had asked, she would no longer be able to lie about her feelings for him or that he truly owned her heart.

She looked around the room and saw the confused faces. No one in the room knew what had happened. To them she would be acting in a salacious and perverted manor of her own accord. To do as she had been instructed would have her seated in front of her semi-adopted grandson with her legs spread. She would have to take of her pants and he would see her panties and how the material pressed into her folds.

The thought of the obscene behavior added to her increasing arousal caused her core to react, soaking her panties. She whimpered a bit at the fact that her coming embarrassment would be multiplied when the scent of her arousal also filled the room because of that wetness. "Naruto, magokun (grandson) will have his face in my wet panties" she thought and felt delight.

That was when she realized that she had already made her decision. That she was not feeling embarrassed of humiliated but instead was feeling excitement. She doubted she could even get her mouth to form the words to do anything other than what Jiraiya had demanded. And she felt her panties become even wetter. Then she giggled. A perverted giggle. One even more perverted than all the ones that had slipped from her before. If she was to fall into depravity she would do it as a Hokage should.

The giggle had been infused with lust and both of the males had to adjust themselves while all the women, sans one, blushed as their nether regions flooded with arousal. Then they all watched as Senju Tsunade, legendary shinobi and future Hokage, pulled off her pants, dragging her panties with them. Her movement was not only purposeful but decidedly erotic.

Then she sat in the chair, spreading her legs. "I want it here…" she pointed high on her inner thigh "…and I want you to cover it with paw prints that lead from here to here." She finished indicated a path from the outside of her thigh that went up wrapped around and finished near her flushed and swollen button.

… **Home of Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Clan District, Konohagakure No Sato**

It had been a month since Sato Rena had shifted her "counseling" to seduction. It would be true to say that the loss of all his power had broken Sasuke's Uchiha arrogance, if even for a time. And because of that, the seduction class that had been nearly impossible to teach him was now rather effective. Especially as he was being taught in a situation where he was the only student and did have the added pressure to maintain the reputation of his clan.

If Rena had bothered seeking permission for what she was doing, she probably would not have gotten it as the Hokage did not want the Uchiha gaining any power or ability until after he was cleared to return to the shinobi corps. If he was cleared to return to the Shinobi corps since the Sandaime was leaning toward having him as just a "breeding horse" to restore the famed clan.

That plan did not sync with Rena's though. She needed the Uchiha to have access to his chakra again so that when he impregnated her, also part of her plan, not only would she be a member of the very wealthy and respected clan, but she would have her own set of the most powerful dōjutsu in the elemental nations. And that type of work required an early start.

Fortunately for all involved, especially the conniving kunoichi, her ambitions did not mean she was disloyal to Konoha, nor was she cursed with any version of the Uchiha madness or arrogance. It was fortunate because the new will of fire burned bright and when it was discovered what she was doing, any disloyalty would have meant her death.

That being said, the kunoichi's methodology and her own personality would have world shaking repercussions for many years in the future. And the Uchiha clan would be, in a round about way, cured of centuries of seeming madness, born of arrogance and power. Rena was pulled from her thoughts by a muffled scream, louder than the others.

She looked to see that her apprentice, Ayame, had grazed Sasuke's balls with her last flick off the cat-o-nine-tails. She examined the younger girls form, mentally critiquing her form for later discussion. It would do no good to undermine her in front of their slave. She looked to Sasuke who was covered with a light sheen of sweat and straining against his restraints. It might seem like the boy was being tortured if not for his rock hard manhood that erupted on the next strike.

The future of the Uchiha clan had shifted drastically and it all began with a coup for Konoha that had, ironically, occurred because of Uchiha arrogance.

…Flashback

Nadeshiko Town is a village run by women and the leadership had recently become very aggressive and hateful toward men. They had a warrior culture most similar to samurai though they would consider it an insult if anyone, especially a foreign man, would refer to them that way. It was the easiest of the many pitfalls, when dealing with the village, to avoid. So, it went without saying that Uchiha Kioshi seemed incapable of avoiding it.

Imai Takiji had been excited when he learned that he was on a Genin team with a member of the famous Uchiha clan. So was his Jōnin sensei, Nishikawa Niou; a civilian born shinobi. Since then, they had failed the Chunin exams three times and the third member of their team, Nashio Jou, had died. No one was willing to say it but all of the failures, including Jou's death, had been due to the Uchiha's arrogance and their sensei's inability to stand up to an "Uchiha elite". Takiji was sure he would not survive the current mission because of it, as well.

Anyone with any sense could tell that the women they were dealing with were running out of patience. So, only Kioshi was completely surprised that by the end of the first day they found themselves in the Nadeshiko equivalent of the T&I division. That was where Takiji met Sato Irisa. The interrogation specialist had figured out, immediately, that Takiji was not like his partner nor was he responsible for the position they found themselves in.

Takiji was held for two months and in that time Irisa had fallen in love with the, weak minded, man. She had become disenchanted with her village and the extreme views they had developed toward men. So while Uchiha Kioshi was taken to be executed after his sensei, Irisa had freed Takiji and escaped, eventually defecting to Konoha.

…End Flashback

Rena's parents, Irisa and Takiji, loved her but her mother was evidence of the fact that in an extreme environment, less extreme, but still terrible, beliefs could be consider moderate, even progressive. Irisa had no respect for men. She did not view them with the disdain of her home village but she saw them as little more than weaklings to be used for sexual gratification and moving heavy things around the house.

Rena's father fit with her mother well. While the Uchiha had been directly responsible for the various tragedies the team had faced, Takiji had been spineless in the face of his teammate's terrible decision making. Rena had more respect for men than her mother did, but she had no intention of being anything but the master of her home and that home was going to be the Uchiha compound.

… **Main House, Namikaze Clan District, Konohagakure no Sato**

Naruto and his four ladies were sprawled across his large bed. After leaving Tsunade they had been very horny. The future Hokage was not only beautiful but she was also very sexually responsive to the tattoo needles and had been very vocal as she sank deeper into her fully awakened perverted nature. Her soaking cunt had released a fog of raw sexuality that made all of their heads swim.

Then, after he finished the seal but before starting the paw prints, Tsunade had stood and tore the remainder of her clothes off, unleashing the largest breasts Naruto had ever seen, especially on such a svelte and toned female body. Tsunade had preened under the wide-eyed looks of everyone. Tsunade was stunning; 163 cm tall (5'4"), with measurements of 106-60-76 (42-24-30) and 65 kg (140 lbs).

Her nipples were hard, and her stomach was washboard flat with a hint of her muscles showing through. A tuft of blonde hair sat over a hairless vagina that Naruto had been staring at for 30 minutes and was acting like a faucet that someone had forgotten to turn off. Concentration was near impossible for the young man while he drew on her skin. His assistant was even more affected as Temari kept licking her lips unconsciously wanting to lick at the woman in front of them.

Then, Naruto's baa-chan started to flirt with him. Demanding that he view her as a possible lover. And worse (or better), she blended her flirting with her position as his adopted grandmother, not relinquishing one to explore the other. She called him magokun or Rutokun, using affectionate familial names to ask him things like "Magokun, Is my smell distracting? Do you like it?" or "Rutokun, do you think I have a pretty pussy?"

She did not spare anyone in the room from her exploding lust. Asking the girls if they played with themselves and Anko's opinion on Jiraiya's cock; "I haven't ridden it yet. Is it satisfying? Did it fill you nicely?" She even asked Hanna if she had ever allowed her ninken to "seal her up". Naruto had not known whether the blush was because of the question or a hint at the answer.

Generally though, the women, who had at the very least (except for Kurenai), accepted the more perverted and sexually open culture of Konoha, found their admiration of the female sannin increasing when she got Jiraiya, the famed pervert, to blush from her pornographic description of how "Rutokun" was making her pussy feel with each paw print creeping closer to it.

When the Namikaze family returned to the main house, Naruto fell upon the girls like a man possessed. The ladies took the full brunt of Naruto's lust and returned it kind, turning to each other with equal furor, as well. Eventually they calmed, and the passion receded leaving satisfaction, contentment and love as they drifted to sleep on each other's arms.

… **Hokage Tower, Konohagakure No Sato**

It was two weeks after she had the seal applied that Senju Tsunade was officially elevated to the position of Godaime Hokage. The confirmation required a "nomination" vote from both the civilian and shinobi councils. Then a challenge period where Tsunade had to fight three of the strongest shinobi of the village (Might Gai, Hatake Kakashi and Sarutobi Asuma). Finally, the Fire Daimyo had to approve the nomination.

The power of the seal had been awe-inspiring for Tsunade. It reduced the amount of time required to charge her Strength of 100 seal from 1 year to 1 month. In addition, the capacity of the seal had doubled, making the reduced charging time even more amazing. The strength she could bring to bear with the seal had also increased and was terrifying, even to Tsunade, the first time she used it in a training field.

The fight with the challengers was meant more for show than a true challenge to Tsunade right to the rank of kage, but Tsunade was confident that with the seal she would actually beat the three Jōnin if they chose to sincerely challenge her for the hat. At the elevation ceremony Tsunade officially announced that she was also going to be the high priestess of the Hadakashi.

She didn't verbally announce it, but it was clear to all watching when she removed her yukata in preparation for the Sandaime to robe her and place the hat on her head. Under the yukata she was wearing a version of the, now familiar, Hadakashi uniform. High heeled sandals, with spike, adorned her feet paired with a pair of tight pants made of the same stretchy material of the Hadakashi body suit. The pants ended at her waste and she wore no top. Her massive breasts displayed freely for all to see.

Her breasts were beautiful and everyone who considered themselves a follower of Hentaishindo saw them as a true blessing from the Yokubō no kami. They were more buoyant than should be possible and she had the "seal that wasn't a seal" at the center of her chest. She also wore the long fingerless gloves of the warrior sect.

The crowd was mesmerized by Tsunade's large breasts and the presence she had. The spell was broken when the Sandaime held the Hokage robes and she slipped into them. It was white with bell sleeves and had a red band down each side. The red bands had the symbol of the leaf village on one and the symbol of the land of fire on the other.

Tsunade wore the robe open with each side covering her breasts, though the inside swell was still visible. The falling of the robe to cover them causing a disappointed sigh to move through the crowd. Then the Sandaime put the hat on her head and kneeled saying "Hokage-sama". First the ANBU then all the shinobi then the entire village went one knee and as one said, "Hokage-sama".


	37. The Will of Fire Still Burns

… _ **The Hyūga Clan**_

 _The Hyūga Clan was the third clan to join Konohagakure after its inception and was the first to trust in the peace that had been brokered between the Uchihas and the Senjus. Because of this and the very powerful kekkei genkai they brought with them, they are considered to be nobles in Konohagakure. And the clan used that nobility to maintain one of the stricter clan organizational structures in the elemental nations._

 _As many people have heard, but few understand, the Hyūga clan is split into a main and branch family. In simple terms, the main branch are the clan members that represent the direct line of succession for the position of clan head and the branch makes up everyone else. Up until the introduction of the caged bird seal, this system had few problems._

 _The original Cage Bird Seal prevented anyone from acquiring the eyes of a Hyūga Clan member by destroying the eyes upon death or removal. When the seal was adopted by the Hyūga clan, it was decided that it would only be applied to the branch family members. That created some conflict and so a pain and suppression element was added to the seal and before long the branch family became slaves (though no one dared used that term) to the main family._

 _To aid in the application of the seal and control of the family, a council of elders was created. The council was made up of all former clan heads, who did not receive the seal even after relinquishing the head status, and selected branch family members who were allowed into the main family and had their seal removed._

 _Over time the council of elders gained power and the system to apply the cage bird seal was changed. Originally the main branch included the direct line to the seventh member in the line of succession. But eventually only the Clan head and their named heir was made automatically immune to application of the seal._

 _By the time of Hinata's birth, clan heirs were being forced to face their siblings in combat after graduating from the academy with the winner remaining (or becoming) the heir and the loser being branded with the seal and put in the branch family, though in the limited generations since the introduction of the system, almost every branded sibling was eventually put on the council and had the seal removed. And the siblings rarely had the pain and suppression functions used against them._

 **Hokage's Office, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure no Sato**

It had been 2 weeks since Senju Tsunade was installed as the Godaime Hokage and it was time for her to attend her first council meeting. She had spent the two weeks in meetings with the, once again retired, Sandaime Hokage. Like her, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been remade under the spreading influence of Hentaishindo and the former Sensei/student pair had quickly developed a casual and flirty relationship that still managed to conduct the business of bringing the new Hokage up to speed.

The flirtations started with inappropriate comments about Tsunade's breast and equally inappropriate musings about whether the "God of Shinobi" was a "God" in bed as well. That led to playful challenges and on their third day together, culminated with Tsunade riding her former sensei while he sat in the Hokage's chair. He would never replace Jiraiya and she couldn't displace Yuyu (or her sister and niece) but the two did enjoy fulfilling a deeply buried fantasy from their younger days.

Their behavior was in no way kept private. Not from their lovers and not from any of the people that worked in the Hokage tower. Tsunade was a screamer and no privacy or sound damping seals were used adding to the overall excitement of their coupling. The two weeks before her inauguration as the Hokage had been spent fully accepting and immersing herself in her own lusts.

That had led her to the discovery that she loved fucking in public. First with Jiraiya at the temple, then with him (and Tomi) throughout the village and finally on the Hokage's desk with her former mentor. How she loved the design of the Hadakashi pants. It was actually two pieces with the top held together by only one zipper. With it off Tsunade and any Hadakashi eager to be fucked was left in, basically leather thigh-high stockings.

She also loved the aftermath of her vocal and wild public displays. For so long she had been overly sensitive about people (especially men) admiring her body, especially her breasts, publicly. Now she reveled in it. Especially after being fucked to orgasm. Her breasts were constantly exposed now and drew eyes like a magnet but after being with one of her lovers, they would be flushed or bruised and caused her to feel people's lust like she could sense chakra. And it empowered her.

Because of all of this, while the Sandaime and Godaime toured the various divisions and governmental offices of the village, many of the civilian and shinobi employees found themselves both charmed and blushing by the combined aura of power, command and perverseness, that the two kages carried with them. All magnified by the Godaime's breasts peeking out of her open robes and flushed from the hand that had been squeezing them while she yelled out her completions.

When not touring the village (or having sex), the Sandaime also gave his successor the full unfiltered, unedited history of Konohagakure no Sato from the first Hokage all the way to himself. It was an eye opening discussion that left her both extremely disappointed with her home village and extremely proud of it. It also left her to wonder how a future Hokage would view the decisions she would eventually have to make. But mostly it left her with the understanding that the strength and reputation of Konoha was not an accident, it was the result of purposeful planning and execution by its leaders.

When not with her mentor she was with her lover. Much to the irritation of the politicians and power brokers on and surrounding both councils, she gave them absolutely none of her time before the scheduled council meeting. Instead, when not carrying out her duties as Hokage, she tended to her new religion, accepting her position as high priestess of the Hadakashi. And joyously basking in the love Jiraiya showered her with.

It amazed her how much she craved him. Not just his body or how it could make her feel but his cleverness and ability fluster and challenge her. Most men who had tried to seduce her could not find it in themselves to challenge her without putting her down, but Jiraiya could. It was the thing she had openly admired about him even before admitting she loved him. He had also had the habit of allowing her to trample over him but he no longer did that and the two traits combined to make a man she could not help but love.

She had denied herself so much of what she truly wanted and now she eagerly grabbed at the opportunity to make up for lost time. For Jiraiya it meant being totally honest with her about his feelings. For her it meant submitting gleefully to every sexually depraved fantasy she had ever held and kept secret (sometimes from herself). From fucking Hiruzen to semi-seriously teasing her adopted grandson with her breasts.

Her and Tomi, together, had even been able to finally sate Jiraiya's lust for an entire night and her pussy, ass and mouth still tingled in remembrance of the accomplishment. Or perhaps it was because she had yet to go more than four hours without having at least two of her orifices filled with a meaty shaft or slick tongue since finally returning Jiraiya's feelings.

But now it was time to meet her council. She stood and made her way to the Hokage robes that hung next to her desk. For day to day business she did not wear them and instead wore a stole that was embroidered, like her robes, with the kanji for the leaf village on one side and the one for the land of fire on the other.

Having her breasts exposed was symbolic of her personal life and her religious practices so, when not in the Hokage robes, but still working, she wore the stole to cover her breast, though it only covered her nipples and areola. She was sure certain members of the council and village would not see the difference between walking around topless and wearing the scarf-like adornment, but to her it made all the difference.

One thing that she did not give up from her new life was her newly appointed personal guard. It was made up of three kunoichi; Jōnetsu, Ekusutashī and Kanraku. The same three women that had come with Jiraiya to retrieve her after she finally stopped running from herself. It turned out that they were not just any three Hadakashi but were in fact the Hadakashi council who knew they were on a journey to find their High Priestess.

The ANBU were OK with the three women taking on the role of the Hokage's personal guard. It was an unspoken tradition that the Hokage chose their own personal guard, and that they would come with them to the position, usually being young shinobi from the Hokage's "school" (student of a student). The only requirement and expectation was that whomever the people where, they could meet ANBU standards, something that was absolutely true in the case of the Hadakashi.

When she had first accepted that she wanted to be Hokage, Tsunade had planned for Shizune to be her personal guard and assistant, but her conversations with Hiruzen and the availability of the Hadakashi had led to a new use for her longtime apprentice. Tsunade looked at her three guard. She, of course, knew who they really were and remembered them from her previous time in the village. There skill could not be called into question. Either marshal or sexual.

Like her, the three women wore an additional article of clothing to indicate when they were on duty to the Hokage vs on duty to their religion. The kept the one-piece bodice that stopped beneath their breasts but added a sheer shirt with belled sleeves. Unfortunately for the prudes that still resided in the village, the top did nothing to hide away the women's breasts and for some men only increased their lust for the women.

Once again wearing the Hokage robes, Tsunade and her three guards left the office and moved through the building to the council chambers causing the entire building to pause as they walked by. Dangerous and supernaturally beautiful, the women always caused that reaction and Tsunade loved it. She could practically taste the respect and desire that radiated from both the men and women that watched her walk by. And she loved it.

 **... Council Chambers, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure no Sato**

Hyūga Hiashi was in huddled conversation with his co-conspirators. That would not be the word he would use for the group of "concerned councilors" that had come together in the name of "saving" Konohagakure, but that was what they were. They were made of two, seemingly disparate groups allied behind one goal; returning Konohagakure to the way it was before the Sandaime had "supposedly" regained his will of fire.

"I cannot believe she had the audacity to ignore us for two weeks. Just so that she could indulge in her sluttish behavior. We do not have a Hokage, we are being led by a whore." Offered a shinobi councilman. Hiashi rolled his eyes as yet another blowhard found a new way to say the same sentence. Since arriving in the council chambers, this was the eighth version of the same sentence uttered by the sixth different asshole. One industrious councilwoman having repeated herself three times.

Hiashi sighed as he found himself having to repeat his own sentence, in a new way, for the eighth time, wondering if he was doomed to fail at this too. He desperately wished Fugaku was still alive. He was sure the man would have been part of this group and then he would have someone to share the burden of these people's ignorance.

"The fact that she has allowed herself to become little more than a… plaything for Jiraiya's little religion, is exactly why we shall succeed. She will bow to the will of the council and we can, get the village back on track." Hiashi said in emotionless tones and the group settled again into humming and grumbling agreement.

"What is really important is that this woman recognizes the importance of the civilians of this village and does not repeat the strong-arm tactics of her predecessor." Offered a separate civilian councilman. For a moment Hiashi seriously considered abandoning all of his plans just to be done with the group. The latest comment had come from the second of the "allied" groups.

The first group was the small but vocal remnants of the "prudes", as everyone called them. They did not give themselves a name and simply referred to themselves as concerned citizens who worried for the moral fiber of the village and the elemental nations. Hiashi thought "prudes" was much more succinct. The speaker, who also just reiterated what had been said four times previously, represented the larger economic group that wanted more money.

The economic group did not have a derisive name and Hiashi figured it was because they had "won" the marketing battle by naming themselves "Civilian Economists". Before the announcement of Uzumaki Namikaze's heritage, they were the primary group that organized against the boy. Unsurprisingly, the revelation of Naruto's parentage had decimated the group that had been already reeling from the Sandaime's "renewed will of fire."

What was surprising was that the remaining members never cared about the status of the Jinchūriki. The boy was just leverage to get what they wanted. Power. Civilians were the majority of the population, in Konohagakure, in Hi no Kuni and in all of the elemental nations and yet they held very little power, relatively. The Daimyo's were all civilians, but the power of the nations rested with the minority chakra users and the "Civilian Economists" wanted to change that. With a weakened Hokage and young Naruto as a distraction, they had almost succeeded in one of the great shinobi villages.

Now they wanted to try again. They believed that the inexperience of the Godaime combined with their belief that she was a whore (and whore meant stupid to them), meant they could steamroll her and become the true leaders of the village, leaving the "slut" as a figurehead. As the time drew nearer, Hiashi prepared himself. Nothing would happen in this meeting. The goal was just to overload Tsunade with information and establish her inexperience. Fortunately, Hiruzen had not taken a position as one of her advisors and would not be present so they could hopefully bully her politically.

Naruto looked around the council chambers at the gathered people. Konohagakure was a very large village and based on its size could be considered a town or even a city. Even so, he thought that there were way too many council members. The village councils were there to offer advice to the Hokage and keep the village leader informed about issues affecting the people. That was supposed to be their purpose.

So, Naruto did not understand why the merchant's guild required three members to sit on the civilian council. The same was true for the shinobi council. Was it really necessary for every clan to be represented on the council, when there was also a clan guild of which they were all members and had a council representative? Don't even get him started on the shinobi guild which also had a seat for every clan and also had a seat on the shinobi council.

Currently the young man who represented two seats on the council (and 3 separate guilds) by himself was watching a mixed block of shinobi and civilian council members as they plotted against the Hokage. The woman was his honorary grandmother and the star of a few of his sexual fantasies (it really wasn't fair to call rubbing his crotch; flirting), but he remained calm despite the betrayal that was happening in front of him, in real time. Mostly because it was doomed to failure.

The Sandaime had done much to clean up the corruption that was threatening the village. The death of Danzō and the dismissal of Utatane Koharu had eradicated the most dangerous threats but a weaker and more provincially motivated conspiracy had grown up in its place. Older rich merchants, who worshipped money and power with the same fervency of the most dedicated Hentaishindo adherent, had teamed up with older prudish civilians and shinobi to try and "defang" the newest Hokage.

The nominal leader of the "political block" was Hyūga Hiashi. He cared little for money or morality and was a member, Naruto suspected, to try and regain control of the branch members of the Hyūga clan. And was leader due to his prestige alone. The Hyūga civil war had ended when the branch family member's desire for revenge had run its course and the main family had accepted that with the Uzumaki-Namikaze seal that prevented involuntary sealing, their ability to control their cousins had been lost to them.

Still, Hiashi's position and power was tenuous as the end of fighting did not mean the end of hostilities. As far as Naruto could tell he had joined the "Asshole Alliance" (as Naruto called it in his mind) in hopes of forcing Tsunade to help him "fix" the Hyūga clan. After a few months of fighting, the people supporting the cage bird seal and similar clan practices had been reduced to the remaining elder council (two of them having been killed) and Hiashi.

Unsurprising since, other than Hinata and Hanabi, they were the only ones truly in the main branch. Naruto wondered if Hiashi knew that Hanabi and Neji were well on their way to uniting the main and branch families, carnally. It was a match that under normal circumstances, Hiashi would have tried to make purposefully but Hanabi had become a "reformist" and matching with Neji was the final deathblow to his control of the clan.

Hiashi wanted control of his clan back, while the prudes wanted Anko, and her seduction classes, out of the academy and the civilian economist wanted power over the shinobi to use them for their businesses. All three groups were intelligent and devious enough to come up with a, to borrow from a separate universe, Slytherin worthy plan to undermine the new Hokage and achieve their goals. Unfortunately, all three suffered from the same fault. They did not respect Senju Tsunade.

"You gonna learn today." Naruto thought.

… **Home of Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Clan District, Konohagakure No Sato**

Uchiha Sasuke found himself in front of his mirror once again. He had been in front of the same mirror many times since the day he had looked at his own emotionally broken form after being suspended from the shinobi forces. His journey to this point had been long and arduous, and he had learned surprising things about himself. But he could not deny the results.

In his first act as a former Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen had recommend his reinstatement into the shinobi forces to the Godaime. The man had told him that he would have done it himself but that it would be unfair to not give his future commander the right to make such a decision. The Godaime had met with him privately and after that discussion had reinstated him.

He was happy to be a shinobi of the leaf again but was no longer driven by the same motivations as before. He was still eager to find and capture his brother but now it was so he could present Itachi to his mistress, so she could guide him to the same peace and tranquility that she had helped him achieve. "Are you ready, Sasuke-kun" came the sickly sweet voice of his other mistress. Her voice would have sent disgusted shivers up the spine of most men but for Sasuke it was heaven.

"Hn" he grunted and Ayame rubbed his back with her hand before pressing her lightly curved body into his back. Ayame, and Rena represented the true future of the Uchiha clan now. They were both pregnant with his child and Rena had already manifested her new sharingan. Sasuke had achieved his third tomoe, fully maturing his sharingan in the same episode where a former fan girl had tried to murder his future child. She did not die easily.

The older woman was recovering on the bed from the passionate, and violent, love making they had to celebrate his first day returning to his shinobi life. Ayame's hand lowered down Sasuke's back and then Sasuke's eye's widened and he groaned as his second mistress gave him his final gift before his new outfit was complete. "Do not forget your letter." She said with a tinkling, but somehow cruel, laugh before joining Rena on the bed where the two women kissed each other with more love and care than they would ever outwardly show Uchiha Sasuke.

 **... Council Chambers, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure no Sato**

Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto was doing his best not to laugh, but was failing as yet another snicker forced itself from between his sealed lips. Beside him Inuzuka Tsume pinched his leg again. He would be more likely to take her silent reprimand seriously if it wasn't her barking laughter that had caused his latest round of snickering. Since he joined the council, Tsume had taken it upon herself to be a political mentor to him.

An Inuzuka ninken for his descendants had been the price of her failure to care for the son of her friend, Uzumaki Kushina, and like he had done with Jiraiya, he had considered her slate clean and accepted her completely into his life as a surrogate aunt. The two were already building a reputation on the council for boiling political babble down to one sentence summaries that cut through much of the bullshit.

It was done under the auspices of teaching him what he needed to know about the council and so Naruto's statements were typically in the form of a question while Tsume usually used an explanatory tone in her replies. As such, Naruto spoke in a serious voice devoid of the humor he just had and replaced with almost childish curiosity, when he said, "Tsume-chan, did Hyūga-sama just suggest that Hokage-sama shouldn't have been chosen to be Hokage. Isn't that a challenge for the position?"

All voices stopped. Naruto had managed to speak loud enough for everyone to hear while still sounding like a child. Tsume was impressed as she did her part while laughing like a hyena in her mind. "Well, Naruto-kun. Hyūga-sama cannot directly challenge for the position of Hokage. But he can challenge Tsunade-sama's claim to the title. If he wins, it would only mean Tsunade-sama might have to step down, which is why it's not typically done. But you are right that Hyūga-sama's words suggests he believes himself stronger than our village's Kage."

From the moment Tsunade had entered the council chambers with her three guard, the "Asshole Alliance" had gone on the attack. It had started with scoffs and "accidental" forgetfulness when addressing Tsunade and not using her title, Hokage-sama. Tsunade had not fought back and that had encouraged them to become more and more bold as the meeting continued. Through it all Tsunade sat in the Hokage's chair, seemingly unbothered.

… **Flashback**

At first, Naruto had been livid, only held back by his confusion about why Tsunade was not defending herself and demanding respect. When he looked closely at her he saw that she was fighting a smirk and that made him decide to remain silent. Eventually the energy changed and he was pretty sure something was happening, but he couldn't tell what.

"The civilian council expects that the shinobi of the village will serve the community when required and will not tolerate the use of the shinobi forces as a personal tool of the leadership." Spoke one woman who Naruto had not tagged as a member of the Asshole Alliance. That was when his confusion turned to a smile. He looked over to his "aunt" and saw that she saw that he got it and she smiled at him in approval.

His baachan's seeming timid-ness had caused more of the snakes to show themselves and that was the point. Deciding he wanted to be part of the "prank" he and Tsume had joined in. All it took was for them to show the same disrespect to the councilors that they were showing the Hokage. He knew that the Asshole Alliance did not care who his parents were and still hated him so his open disrespect of them uncovered two more conspirators.

"Hey Fumio, wasn't your son in the year behind ours? How is he doing at the academy?" Naruto shot out as an interruption to the councilman's demands about "reforming" the academy. The man was clearly angry at Naruto's question because it cut to the reason he wanted the standards lowered as his son had no chance of passing under the increasing expectations of the academy. However, instead of him responding, a new voice yelled, "Be respectful of the councilman, brat" which caused Naruto to think "gotcha".

Tsume directed some verbal energy to the new voice and before long he was added to the list of associate members of the Asshole Alliance. Naruto did not know why Tsunade thought they had found everyone but the "unmasking" of the last councilman had caused her face to shift and Naruto knew she was about to act. "Hiru-kun told me that Uchiha Sasuke is ready to return to the shinobi forces so I signed the approval. He should be returning to his team now." Tsunade said with a voice that sounded like it was seeking approval of her action.

"Perhaps Sandaime-sama should reclaim the hat if his are the decisions we will be hearing from you, Tsunade." The speaker was Machida Sanako. She was the head of the Machida clan, a major power on the merchant's guild, and she had lost her husband in the Kyuubi attack. She had hated Namikaze Minato before that and so had no faith in his "vaunted" sealing ability. Something she had made very clear to everyone when she used to lobby to turn Naruto over to Danzō.

No one knew why she hated Minato. She was old enough to have been his mother and some of the wilder rumors that had existed when she had clashed with him, before he died, was that he was the love child of her husband, that she had forced the man to give him up to an orphanage and that she was mad that he had risen so far as a shinobi anyway.

She no longer believed Naruto was the Kyuubi in a weakened form but still hated him for being the son of the Yondaime. As if that was not enough, she was a prude and a true believer that shinobi should just be tools for the civilians to use to better their lives. No one in the room knew, but she had also been a secret financial backer of Danzō's ROOT program.

The fact that Tsunade had accepted a position as Naruto's surrogate grandmother, that she was acting like a slut that could put Anko to shame and that she had been given power over the civilians, meant Sanako hated Tsunade with a passion that made no sense considering they had never met each other before that day.

Her words caused her supporters to hum amusedly which further encouraged the civilian clan head to continue. As if she was relishing the opportunity to finally say anything she wanted to a powerful shinobi, she gleefully continued, "From what we have all seen and heard, I am sure he can make better use of you in positions you seem to have become more comfortable in." that caused open chuckling, though the shinobi council became deadly silent.

"In fact, I can no longer hold my tongue now that I actually see this disgrace wearing the Hokage's hat.", the slightly hysterical woman said picking up steam. "Konohagakure no Sato is not a brothel and that is all this woman is fit to lead. We would be better led by a man of character, like Hyūga Hiashi." Anyone looking at the Hyūga clan head in that moment would easily see that he had not expected the blustering woman to make such a suggestion but Tsunade's behavior had encouraged arrogance to ignore sense.

Perhaps it was also the fact that with the revolt of the branch family, no one had stroked Hiashi' s ego in too long. But for whatever reason the pale-eyed man rose to his feet with a bearing clearly meant to convey royalty and said in a smooth voice. "Thank you, Machida-sama, for the recognition of my personal power and that of my clan. Perhaps the Daimyo had other things on his mind when he accepted the Sandaime's recommendation. It is something we should definitely bring up with him."

… **End Flashback.**

The minute Hyūga Hiashi rose to speak, Naruto knew that his baa-chan had orchestrated the downfall of the entire asshole alliance and had done it with silence and a bit of timid behavior. The old saying about giving a person enough rope to hang themselves rang true but the Namikaze and Uzumaki clan head was surprised at how far the conspirators had gone exposing themselves. It had been the cause of his and Tsume's laughter.

Unwilling to not be part of what he considered an amazing prank, he and his obachan (aunt) had added their two cents. They had basically gone unchallenged in the council meeting and Naruto's question and Tsume's answer seemed to clear some of the fog from everyone's mind and thoughts about political ramifications started to circulate again. That led to some doubt, but no one believed that they would face any real repercussion from the "weak" Hokage. Until they felt the killing intent.

… **Training Ground # 8**

Uchiha Sasuke arrived at the training ground to meet with his team, once again. It had only been 5 months since he had been suspended from the shinobi corps but to the "last loyal Uchiha" it was like he was reborn and lived the first 14 years of his life all over again. Based on the looks he had received on his way to meet his team, he was sure most people would doubt it had only been 5 months. "Perhaps I've changed so much that I am simply unrecognizable to them." He thought with a smirk he had learned to keep in his mind only.

Surprisingly, his team had left his spot open for him. They had been assigned various shinobi for their missions, but none had become permanent members of the team. The closest had been an odd boy named Sai. The boy had a seemingly unnatural ability to say the worst thing in any given situation. Despite constantly putting his foot in his mouth the boy also was unaffected by the awkward moments he created. Kiba loved him and actually was still friendly with him despite the boy leaving to another team.

Kiba and Shino had not had to be forced to hold their open team position for Sasuke. Despite his issues, the two clan heads considered the wayward Uchiha to be their teammate and had bought in to Kakashi's teachings about the importance of team work and never abandoning a teammate. Kakashi had been very proud of them when Kiba told him, "Until Sasuke was officially retired from the shinobi force, he would always have a place with them." Shino nodding in agreement the entire time.

The boys had been sincere in there declaration that Sasuke was still their teammate, but both boys had to admit seeing the Uchiha again was more than worth the effort. It was such a shocking presentation that Shino's bugs went completely silent, something they only ever did on missions. Even Kakashi who had been reading his little orange book had looked on in surprise, breaking his normal cool stoicism that always annoyed his "eternal rival".

Sasuke was wearing the stab and slash resistant sheer body stocking typically worn by kunoichi. On his legs he wore tight black leather chaps, paired with equally tight and black leather briefs that left absolutely nothing to the imagination (respectable but not impressive). The black leather continued with a 3/4 length leather vest that left his ripped abs exposed but was closed around his chest by a multitude of belts, the buckles of which were matte black. A similar buckle closed the collar that wrapped around his neck, though that one had a lock on it.

The collar was at the base of a face mask (leather, of course) that covered Sasuke's mouth nose and ears. Kakashi would not admit it but Sasuke's face mask made him feel uncomfortable and he could not exactly understand why. The outfit was completed with ANBU style boots and gloves that reached his biceps. He carried a wakizashi across his back as a primary weapon and Kakashi forced himself to note that he needed to find out how proficient his student was. "Once the shock wears off." He thought.

 **... Council Chambers, Hokage Tower, Konohagakure no Sato**

 _The modified curse of heaven seal that every Konoha shinobi now had tattooed on them was a complex piece of fūinjutsu. In the simplest terms the seal acted as a chakra collector, recycler and purifier. Having the seal increased a shinobi's chakra use efficiency and also increased the shinobi's chakra capacity. Naruto was likely the only living Uzumaki Seal Master and he remained impressed by the ingenuity of the idea that led to the creation of the original seal._

 _Operationally, no matter how refined and controlled a person was with their chakra use, there would always be some chakra loss. The first function of the seal was to capture that loss. Then the seal would purify the captured chakra. Orochimaru's version of the seal was able to purify the captured chakra until it was dangerously close to the natural energy of senjutsu. So much so that Naruto's modified seal was less efficient in that regard for safety's sake._

 _In Orochimaru's version of the seal, the purified chakra would be corrupted by a sliver of the snake Sannin's own chakra before being pumped back into the chakra system. The looping effect slowly corrupting the victim. In Naruto's modified version, the seal does not add any foreign chakra and the purified chakra is pumped back into the coils, creating a loop that not only purifies the chakra in the coils, but due to the now constant flow in and out of the body, continually exercised the chakra coils increasing the chakra capacity threefold (average) before settling again._

 _For Senju Tsunade, the seal was an unknown, un-sought after final addition to her strength of one hundred seal. The one downside to the seal she had carried was that it took three years to fully charge with chakra. The modified seal solved that problem with the absorption, purification, re-integration loop allowing for the strength of one hundred seal to refill from empty in a week. Allowing the slug princess to be much more liberal with the use of her stored chakra._

No one could breath. Tsunade had released 3/4ths of the chakra stored in her strength of one hundred seal as pure killing intent. If she kept it up for a full minute, there would be deaths. Power rolled of the Godaime Hokage in waves that manifested in the visual spectrum enough for the civilians to see it. If they had the ability to breathe, they would say it looked like the waves of heat that hovered over a desert.

Tsunade rose to her feet and sauntered, with rolling hips to Hyūga Hiashi who could not bring himself to even activate his Byakugan. To freeze a Jōnin level shinobi with just killing intent was a clear declaration that Tsunade was not just a kage in name. To add more insult to the frozen Hyūga clan head, she stepped into striking distance from the man. Something that would normally be considered foolish but in the moment was another clear declaration. The Godaime Hokage held no fear of Hyūga Hiashi.

"Hiashi-kun", Tsunade said with a seductive menace that caused the men still aware to instinctually cross their legs in a defensive reaction. "Do you think I will make a bad Hokage?" Unlike the use of his name, her question came out as a terrifying childlike pout that sadistic clowns from several universes only wished they could match.

The killing intent lowered enough for Hiashi to be able to shake his head but little else. "So Sanako-busu was just being mean and disrespectful?" She asked, in a clear and dangerous voice. Once again Hiashi did the only thing he could and nodded in an affirmative. "I understand" Tsunade said and released the killing intent. She did not, however, move out of striking distance from the Hyūga and once everyone could breathe again they looked on at the power play. Hiashi looked away in shame and Tsunade turned her back to him before returning to the Hokage's seat, the final insult un-missed by everyone.

Before she reached her seat, Tsunade nodded toward her guards and said "Kanraku!". The woman in question dashed forward, grabbed Sanako by the head and slammed it into the table she was sitting at with two other councilors, drawing her sword in a smooth motion and holding it over the woman's head. Once again fear ran through the room, though it was not aided by any killing intent. It was simply the fear that comes from the realization that you had carelessly pissed off one of the strongest shinobi on the planet.

The room was silent as Tsunade took her seat. "I am aware that at a time like this, during a transition of power and leadership, it can be easy to allow our emotions to run away with us. However, we are all in this room because we chose to rise to positions of leadership. Positions that have many benefits but also comes with higher standards of behavior. We must, after all, lead by example." The Godaime Hokage spoke in calm, measured, quiet tones that forced the councils to listen carefully. Then she nodded at Kanraku.

"Stick your tongue out Sanako-sama.", the Hadakashi warrior said in a calm, almost soothing voice. The woman whose entire body, beside her head, was shaking, went wide eyed as she realized what was to happen to her. Fear turned to anguish and her eyes moved in her head trying to find someone to save her. "My sword will strike in 10 seconds, Sanako-sama. Choose." Kanraku said again, in motherly tones of comfort that belied the situation.

With time almost up, and her face tear stained, Sanako stuck her tongue out.


	38. End of an Era

**...Office of the Otokage, Otogakure**

Naruto glided through the shadows like a whisper on the wind. He was on an A-rank retrieval mission that could have easily been ranked B. The higher rank to the mission was a respectful acknowledgement that even dead, the Snake sannin was to be taken seriously. If the "bastard" was still alive, the mission would likely be SSS-ranked, if even considered possible and would have required an entire ANBU squad, if not three.

But with the snake dead, as well as his second-in-command, Kabuto, and three of his four enforcers (with the fourth compromised), the hidden sound village had devolved from a shinobi power on the rise to little more than a bandit camp. A few Genin and Chunin level ninja had remained and were led by a low level, sadistic Jōnin, but most of the skilled people Orochimaru had recruited scattered once word of the failed invasion and his death reached them.

Naruto was in the dying village to retrieve a Konoha treasure. One that was integral to the Godaime Hokage's plans. He was retrieving the snake summoning contract. When not on their person, most summoning contracts were left with the boss summon, but Orochimaru had not done that since his former apprentice's name was on it and he didn't want to risk her getting her hands on it.

Getting into the Otokage's private offices was ridiculously easy for Naruto. It was bloodless as well because the sound village ANBU had been the first to leave back to lives as missing nin. The seals were also like paper locks to someone with Naruto's mastery of fūinjutsu. The hardest part was finding the actual location where the contract scroll was hidden.

Unsurprisingly, it was in an ornate box at the center of a series of cruel and sadistic seal traps. It was obvious Orochimaru expected Anko to be making the attempt as he had disabled two traps meant to liquify wombs, one that would bring a pile of wood to life to rape the captured ninja, multiple that would trigger the pain function in Anko's original seal and a pathetic, to Naruto, one that was just audio of Orochimaru taunting her.

After recovering the scroll he moved on to raid the rest of the office for all information. A quick perusal led to the four separate "official" labs Orochimaru had in the sound village and some investigation found an additional two "secret" labs. Naruto, like the rest of his classmates, had a strong stomach for death and violence but even he was disturbed by what was left of people and animals within the labs.

Once done recovering all the information to be found, the stealthy shinobi he could have left. But he had taken a lesson from his Jiji's relationship with Orochimaru. The Sandaime had his reasons, but he had left an enemy free to gain power and with a few twists of fate, it could have been his village and his Jiji dead instead of the hebi-teme. And currently there was a sadistic asshat trying to pull together the remnants of the sound village. Naruto saw no reason to let the man get strong enough to matter.

His name was Kimimaro. Naruto had found some information about him while he stripped Orochimaru's offices and labs. He was a few years older than Naruto and was another "last member of his clan." The clan was called the Kaguya and held the Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai. The blood line limit allowed the insane teenaged shinobi to manipulate his own bones to illogical degrees, creating weapons or just bone spikes that could protrude or even fire from his body.

Naruto could have vanished from the village without a trace but instead he positioned himself and spiked his chakra for a second calling his newest enemy to him. Naruto didn't have to wait long for Kimimaro to appear at the head of a group of "shinobi" who barely deserved the title and definitely didn't deserve Naruto knowing their names. The moment Kimimaro recognized the symbol on Naruto's buckle, his face twisted in rage.

"You!" the madman screamed. "You dear to show your face after what your accursed village did to Orochimaru-sama." Then his eyes widened in realization of what the lone ninja's likely mission was and he bellowed "THIEF!" and unleashed a potent amount of killing intent at the silent blonde. No words needed to be said and Naruto simply drew his two ninjatō and waited, slightly impressed but unaffected by the killing intent.

Naruto vs The Sound One and a bunch of guys dressed like Shinobi.

The core of the reforming Sound village was to be Kimimaro as the new Otokage and his 12 friends who would be his ANBU and village council. So, the bone user sent his 12 "ANBU" to kill the leaf ninja. The first of them reached Naruto ahead of his fellows and died. He at least got the chance to throw a punch, one that had his fist encased in the glowing blue of chakra.

Naruto didn't even move his feet. His head shifted to avoid the overextended punch and his right hand flicked up to detach the enemy nin's arm at the shoulder before a second flick took his head. The dead man was not allowed to fall and instead a kick to his chest sent the body into the middle two of the next four attackers that would reach him.

The force of the Spartan kick and the bloody mass was enough to knock them to the ground. The man to the left made the mistake of being distracted by the gruesomeness of the dead body still spurting blood from its neck and took a kunai to the face. He fell dead before the attached explosion tag blew his head into a mist of blood and gore.

The man to the right was not distracted and got to feel the horror of Naruto vanishing from his perception with a burst of speed. His wasted potential as a shinobi was illustrated by the fact that he was able to feel the subtle breeze as Naruto moved past him. The breeze was the last pleasant thing he would ever experience as he died in pain from diagonal slash that cut him in two.

The two men struggling to get from beneath the headless meatbag that had tackled them, looked up when a shadow covered them. Their now cautious friends could only wince when Naruto landed boot first on their heads, popping their skulls like watermelons. More than one of the remaining men wanted to run but were terrified of leaving the false safety of the remaining group. None of them believed they could win against the elite but held hope to be protected by their leader.

Kimimaro cared little for anyone besides himself but he also had delusions of carrying on where Orochimaru left. Of fulfilling the dreams of his murdered master. He saw himself as the Nidaime Otokage and a leader could not exist without followers. He was about to fulfill the hope of his men and step in to protect them when the leaf nin appeared in front of him. Kimimaro had the presence of mind to jump back away from his attacker. He also simultaneously released fifteen bone shards that flew toward his enemy with the precision and strength of chakra infused kunai.

He landed and watched the "obvious" Konoha Jōnin swat away his spikes with his two short swords. He also gave a brief glance to his seven remaining compatriots. They were all dead. In his split second glance, he saw the travel of the two swords that killed them. It was a downward single stroke since the furthest away were decapitated and those closest to him were bisected at the waist. He took no time to mourn their loss since the blonde moved to attack him again.

Naruto was not one to succumb to battle lust buy he was enjoying himself immensely. He had killed all of Kimimaro's gang without the use of a jutsu and only with his martial skill. He would not arrogantly decide to forgo the use of jutsu against the bone user but was curious about if he could finish the fight without them. Bone met sword when Naruto caught up to Kimimaro, after using his two swords to block and parry through the hail of bone spares.

The Shikotsumyaku user had pulled two curved sword shaped bones from his sides that looked like the scimitars used by the eastern nomads. One was used to block an overhand strike while the other blocked a vertical slash. With a smirk Kimimaro released the bones he had hiding preparation beneath the surface of his skin aiming to skewer the ninja stealing from his village.

Naruto moved at the same time as the first point broke the surface of the skin, backflipping almost 10 feet away. But instead of landing, a burst of chakra at his feet when he was parallel to the ground sent him jetting toward his target. If not for the fact that he was under constant attack, the bone user would have marveled at the strategy being used against him. Naruto, as the dual bladed "ANBU?" had introduced himself flippantly, was using bursts of chakra to spin and flip through a perpetual hail of bone shards and spikes. He knocked some away, used some as stepping stones, and amazingly sent some back at him.

Through it all, Naruto's two swords kept taking deadly swipes at him. Only being deflected by the two bone swords he held. The blonde guys feet had not touched the ground since the first backflip, but the truly terrifying thing for the mad Kaguya was that his bone swords were being chipped away. Kimimaro had never seen the limit of his bones because his style was to slash a few times, make space, throw his bone swords and then draw new weapons.

Naruto's constant aggressive push and inexplicable ability to treat the bones flying from his body like an obstacle course, gave Kimimaro no time to recover and draw new ones. He had scored a few cuts, but the blonde was relentless and the few cuts that seemed deep when he connected, heeled to scratches and welts in seconds. Then the bone sword in his left hand shattered and when he brought his right up instinctually to defend to new hole in his defense, Naruto shifted with him and cut his arm off at the elbow.

His pain caused him to lose focus and his chakra shifted before a bone spike fully left his body, reforming fully in his chest and puncturing one of his lungs. All attacks ceased when he fell to the ground. Naruto landed for the first time in 20 minutes and looked down at the gasping young man. He could save him. A punctured lung was a simple fix to the shinobi world, but that was not Naruto's purpose.

Some might think that Naruto's own status as "last of his clan" would stay his hand but clans died all the time. The Namikaze compound was built on the site of two extinct clans. So, without mercy and before the dangerous boy could recover, Naruto buried his swords through his two eyes and out the back of his head ending another long lived shinobi clan.

 **Naruto Wins. Fatality.**

 **...Office of the Hokage, Konohagakure no Sato**

The Godaime Hokage, Tsunade Senju stood in her office in front of her three Jōnin. Two of the three had not been Jōnin at the beginning of the day, but she had field promoted them. Field promotions when not in a time of war was a tricky endeavor that involved "advisement" from the council but since she had made her presence "felt", the council had been very easy to deal with. Concurrence with her recommendation to promote the Chunin had been easy but there was grumbling about the Tokubetsu Jōnin.

In the end grumbling had all it had been. The Tokubetsu Jōnin's skill, reputation and history had exceeded all requirements for the promotion and by all rights should have been offered the opportunity for promotion at least a year earlier. Something that made her promotion more justifiable than the Chunin which they had already approved. A fact she was happy to hear her "Mago-kun" declare publicly. That it was him to say it only added to the grumbling.

Tsunade had shown herself to be a fair Hokage in the two council meetings following her first, but she had also moved the tongue-less Machida Sanako to sit next to her. The woman was in a constant state of fear and depression since that day. The Hokage had not allowed her to quit the council after her humiliation and mutilation and the woman swore she could still see her stained blood on the floors despite the thorough cleaning the room had gotten afterward.

Word of what had happened had also spread outside of the council walls and the permanently silenced woman could feel the satisfaction of all the enemies she had made as they looked at her. What was worse, was the looks of pity she got from so many. A look that was only multiplied by her fellow councilors every time she was forced to sit in the seat closest to the Hokage. She had once been a "leader of the opposition" and was now reduced to a visual example of why it was not wise to push the new Hokage beyond what propriety would allow.

Hyūga Hiashi had not suffered a similar physical punishment but the damage to his ego and reputation cut just as deep. If he ever had ambition to "wear the hat", all hope for that had died the first day Tsunade had arrived in the council chambers. There were even some who were questioning his right to lead his own clan considering the state his leadership had left it in, that he had been so wrong about the strength and ability of his daughter and finally the complete domination of him by Tsunade.

However, where Councilor Machida had been completely declawed and humbled, the Hyūga head had only become a more firm enemy of Tsunade and everyone who supported her. He was not so stupid as to openly challenge her again, but he had become meticulous in his "justified" opposition to everything she wanted to do. Unfortunately for him, despite her heavy-handedness in the first meeting, Tsunade was just as committed to meticulous justifications of her actions. Which was once again displayed in her thorough proof and explanation for why the particular Tokubetsu Jōnin was deserving of promotion.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was a retired man. And for the long time "closet" pervert, his retirement was the stuff of dreams. For the man who had served his village twice as its head as well as leaving his blood and many of his friends on the fields of battle for that village, his reward was well earned. That reward involved the final three female members of a mixed civilian/shinobi family, two gorgeous sisters and one sister's lolita daughter. All three of whom delighted in fulfilling every perverted fantasy of their "Hiru-kun."

The Hokage's office had lost the greatest executive assistant it had ever had when Hiroshima Yuyu left the position to follow her lover into retirement. She was joined in the Sarutobi compound's main house by her sister, Ami, and niece, Kao and the three promised the village in an open letter that they would make sure the Sandaime was rewarded greatly and often for his service and commitment to all of their safety and prosperity.

His total retirement meant he was not to be an advisor to the new Hokage, but that did not mean he would close his door to her if she came to seek his counsel. When she came to see him after her first meeting with the village council, it was not for advice but to brag to her former sensei and once again bask in his approval. The Sandaime was the only person she could act like a child around and within the safety of his main room, she did just that as she rambled on about how she had goaded the "bastards" with her silence.

Her sensei had been gobsmacked when he heard of her actions and finally accepted that his deceased former teammate, Danzō, had been correct when he had accused the Sandaime Hokage of being too lenient. He put it out of his mind, however, as it was no longer his responsibility. His only duty was to enjoy the new family he was building for himself with all their naked luscious bodies, play with his grandchildren and be inordinately proud of his son and future daughter-in-law.

In her office, the three Jōnin before the Hokage were Mitarashi Anko, Umino Iruka and Katō Shizune. Mitarashi Anko was the Tokubetsu Jōnin that the village council did not want to promote despite the death of the traitor Orochimaru, the fact that she was completely free from the Sannin's seal and that she had been instrumental in their victory over the planned invasion.

Also, all of the recent changes to Konoha had been traced back to her taking over the seduction class in the Academy. Something that angered those members who had dedicated much of their lives in an effort to profiting for the previous status quo. So, while it seemed they could do nothing about her changes or the massive changes to the village, they hoped to be allowed the petty vengeance of denying her advancement. They had been wrong. Again.

Umino Iruka's promotion went through without complaint or objection and in a twist Tsunade found funny, it had been him that had to be convinced to be promoted. The man considered teaching his calling and did not want to leave that. It was clear to him that the Hokage would not want to promote him just to leave him teaching future Genin. A job that he considered his sacred duty to a degree matched by the Eternal Chunin.

In the end she had convinced him that it was true her plans would pull him away from the academy at times, but it would not be a full separation as part of her planned duties for him would include remaining an instructor. Although his promotion would cause him to rise to a department head to match Anko's position. Shizune would learn that she too, would be at the Academy heading the Medic Nin program.

Katō Shizune was the only of the three that had already been a Jōnin. It had been a requirement of Tsunade before she would be allowed to train under her. She had been operating on faith in her beloved sensei since their return to the village because the Godaime had not selected her to be part of her personal ANBU detail as she had said she would do when they were in Tanzaku Town. She had been disappointed, but her faith had not shaken, and she believed that she was about to hear what plan Tsunade had for her.

Tsunade's plan was simple if extremely difficult to execute. Her lessons about the history of Konoha had taught her that greatness was not accidental, and she had allowed that to feed her ambition. She wanted Konoha to continue its epic climb to greater and greater heights. She wanted the village hidden in the leaves to be so powerful, in fact and in reputation, that the notion of trying to attack them would be ridiculous. She wanted ever shinobi under her, from Genin to ANBU to be considered flee on site just because of their headband.

The village was well on its way. Even without the Namikaze seal they already had five kage level Jōnin and over one hundred S-class Jōnin in their ranks, but with the seal that number had been skewed to the ridiculous. By standard ranking, all twelve thousand of her shinobi were now, at least, Jōnin level in chakra reserve. And that included the "Genin". The greater world was already starting to suspect that Konoha shinobi had higher chakra reserves than they should but the truth of that was an S-class secret.

Officially the only thing that would be verified outside the village was that the Konoha Shinobi Academy began to dedicate four times the amount of time as any other village to chakra control. To that end, in addition to the Heaven Seal, Tsunade had demanded that all shinobi also be given the silencing seal developed for ROOT to prevent them from being able to divulge the source of Konoha's larger chakra reserves. That initiative was still in process and Tsunade was hopeful that by the time it was complete any small slips would be regulated to rumor. Something that could be beneficial if used correctly.

For her forces it meant that she now had over 100 hundred SS ranked Jōnin, as all of the previously S-ranked ninja had only been limited by their chakra capacity. Thirty percent of her previously A-ranked Jōnin had been able to cross into S-class and there were no Tokubetsu Jōnin left after she got Anko promoted. The rank would likely no longer exist in Konoha, which made the councilors attempt to leave Anko with it all the more galling.

Despite their increased power and the fact that at least sixty percent of her Chunin were Jōnin in all but rank, the same number of them, as before the seal, intended to go to the Jōnin exams to be promoted. Moving form Chunin to Jōnin was more than just a question of power and ability, it was a commitment to leadership and duty in an expanded way and many were not comfortable with seeking out the additional responsibility.

Once again dismissing her musings, Tsunade put her hands together and spoke one word, "Kai" and before the three Jōnin appeared three large scrolls. They had known the genjutsu was there but had not dared try and dispel it as it was clear it was something the Hokage wanted to remain hidden. Thoughts of what and why flew from their minds as they recognized the three artifacts that were laid out before them. All three of the shinobi's eyes widened in recognition of the three documents that had not been seen together in over 10 years.

"These are the summoning contracts for the three most powerful summons in the elemental nations. The toad contract, the slug contract and the snake contract. These are for the Nidaime Densetsu no Sannin." She said quietly but with a power that they felt in their heart. "I will not toy with you. It is my desire and intent that the three of you will be the next generation of the Densetsu no Sannin." Anko, whose name was already on the scroll shivered in anticipation and validation.

"It should be obvious why Shizune and Anko were chosen, but I want you to know, Umino, that you have been nominated to be the next signer of the toad contract by Jiraiya and Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto." Tsunade said ending by looking at the scarred man, who looked back in wonder. Inside he accepted that Naruto had truly forgiven him and that he had finally earned his honor back.

Despite her implication, the three had not just been chosen because of their clear connections to the previous summoners or Naruto's recommendation. The truth was that the three of them had jumped all the way to SS-class from Naruto's seal, when the highest ranking previously was Shizune who was an A class. Tsunade had asked Naruto if he had done something extra for the three in particular but he would neither confirm nor deny it. Especially since her own power increase seemed out of line with the developing power increase curve.

It had matched with her desire and ambition, so she did not press, though she did note in the Hokage book that the Namikaze clan probably had a version of the seal more powerful than what was offered to the village. She loved Naruto to death and had absolute faith in his loyalty to the village and to her, personally, but as Hokage she had to think about the future and what awaited future Hokages in dealing with future Namikaze Clan heads.

Tsunade had not chosen stupid shinobi and they all understood the opportunity they were being offered, because it was clear that they were not being offered the contracts. They were being offered the opportunity to earn the contracts. They each looked at the Hokage with understanding and determination. "What would you have us do?" Anko asked, speaking for all three of them. Tsunade smiled and responded. "A legendary three needs a legendary task.".

Tsunade moved from around her desk to stand directly in front of them, cutting the three off from the three summoning scrolls in a clear message. "Kirigakure no Sato is still in the middle of a civil war. Though to call it a war would imply that both sides had a chance of winning. It is truer to say that the hidden mist is in the midst of a genocide." Tsunade said to the three shinobi standing at attention in front of her.

"The Yondaime Mizukage Karatachi Yagura is the jinchūriki of the three tailed turtle, Isobu. He is also leading the blood line purge in Kirigakure. He has full control of his tailed beast and the three of you are going to battle him and kill him." Anko, Shizune and Umino looked at each other. With the modified seal that they each carried courtesy of the Namikaze clan, they each had over a Kage's worth of chakra and had the skill to label them true SS-class shinobi.

"Despite his full integration with his tailed beast, Yagura won't have all the power of the beast sealed inside of him." Anko offered. "It still it will be a dangerous mission and one that would definitely earn us the title of legendary if we succeed." Umino spoke looking into Anko's eyes as excitement and sexual tension grew between the two. "Will you let me fuck him, too" Shizune asked, already accepting the mission in her mind and more worried about spending months together with the two of them and not having any dick.

Anko looked at her new partner and eagerly said, "You can fuck the both of us." Afraid they might start an orgy in the middle of her office, or more likely wanting to have her office to herself for her own orgy, Tsunade asked officially, "Do you accept this mission?" and the three stood proud and replied together, "Hai, Hokage-sama". Nothing else needed to be said and the three vanished in a shunshin.

Jiraiya appeared out of a shadowed corner with a grin on his face. "Are you sure they can succeed?" Tsunade asked. Jiraiya nodded and replied "Hai, Hokage-sama" though the timber of his voice was seductive, knowing that both he and the target of his affections were affected by the previous three. Tsunade looked at him with smoky eyes and said, "I am at work!" Jiraiya simply responded, "Hai, Hokage-sama" again. By the next minute, Tsunade was bent over her desk with the Yokubō no abatā thrusting into her core.

It had been both humiliating and arousing to ask Naruto to design the new uniforms for the Hadakashi, but it was worth it. All of her warrior priestesses loved it. The basic form of the uniform did not change. A one piece "body stocking" that stopped just below their breasts and went to their ankles, paired with calf high black boots that had gold 7 inch spiked heels.

Tsunade request addition was because she wanted to be able to reduce the time it took to get from wearing the pants to having her pussy exposed. She intended to suggest it was to make using the bathroom easier but fell to her newly discovered perverted nature when her "sexy grandson" was in front of her. Despite her own humiliation, she delighted in describing her desire to be able to be fucked quickly to her clearly aroused Chunin.

It was a close thing but that held themselves back from delighting in each other's bodies. Everyone knew that they would eventually be together. It was just a matter of time. They were just trying to string it out to make their eventual time together more passionate. The aura of lust that was generated each time they met was becoming thicker and thicker and Jaraiya was using it to develop a sexual jutsu. He believed it would be so dangerous as to be labeled a forbidden technique.

Naruto came through with a transforming outfit. With a burst of focused chakra, the one piece outfit would split into two. Thigh high "stockings" and an under bust corset would be all that was left once the "shorts" section receded. It had been exactly what she wanted and Tsunade gave Jiraiya control over this feature and not only benefitted from his use of it when he periodically took her body around the village but the "fear" that he would strip her naked at an inopportune time left her pussy in a perpetual state of wetness.

When she returned to her paperwork she was satisfied, and her relaxation was being extended by Jōnetsu between her legs cleaning up Jiraiya's mess. Her own leaving was being lovingly cleaned by Ekusutashī on her knees between Jiraiya's legs. Not to be left out Kanraku was straddling his head. Some, mostly the remaining prudes, would try to argue that the Hokage's bodyguards were being lax in their duties, but in her office was the safest Tsunade got and even so the three ANBU kunoichi were still prepared to defend her if necessary.

An hour later, the paperwork was done and the Hokage and her main advisor were once again discussing her plans for the village. After the office was sealed against eavesdropping, Jiraiya reported, "The brat was very thorough in cleaning out Orochi-teme's hideout." Tsunade smiled at Jiraiya. As a coping mechanism they both referred to Orochimaru in the way they had when they were all just Genin. She would call him and Orochi-kun.

Jiraiya continued, seemingly unaware of Tsunade's musings. "The Intelligence group is still combing through it, but we have discovered reference to the Fūma clan. Tsunade's eyebrow rose. Jiraiya had to control himself. He was always on sexual edge when around Tsunade and that was only increased whenever she added one of her "ticks", like raising one eyebrow when interested in what he was saying.

With calm born of his recent sexual release he went on to explain what they had discovered. Tsunade already knew about the Fūma clan. They were a shinobi clan that were once very well respected. Like Uzushiogakure, they had remained relatively independent of any particular hidden village but had never risen to the level of the whirlpool village, only having a clan compound and not a full village.

They were on the verge of extinction, not because of a coordinated attack but because of the attrition of trying to remain independent and without the protection of any of the major or minor Shinobi villages. Truthfully, many in the shinobi intelligence field thought they had already gone extinct as a clan, with only a few "cousins" surviving her and there. That was what Tsunade's intelligence reports had said so she was amazed that Orochimaru may have hidden them.

"The clan had a split because of the teme. Some of them split to join Oto while the others became a criminal family, similar to the triads. The death of Orochi-teme and a little bit of me supplying some information to them, has shown both sides that they were wrong, and they are trying to reconcile. I think we may be able to convince them to join Konoha." Jiraiya finished.

Tsunade smiled. Jiraiya's intelligence apparatus was still being integrated back with Konoha's while at the same time being expanded through the Hentaishindo shrines. But he was the best at it in the world, in her opinion, and was happy to be able to finally admit how much he impressed her with his skill as a Sannin. That and his skill as a lover. Both had not been exaggerated.

"Do they know that the information they got about Orochi-kun came from us?" she asked pulling herself from her thoughts. Jiraiya shook his head in the negative. "Good" Tsunade replied, "That will make it easier because they won't think we are trying to manipulate them." Tsunade leaned back in her chair for a moment and then nodded her head when she came to a decision.

"I think I'll send Team 10" she started. "They are all members of well established Konoha clans, without being 'nobles' and Shikamaru is an excellent diplomat and negotiator." Jiraiya nodded in agreement adding, "Ino's fine ass will have all the men in that family rushing to join Konoha." Tsunade chuckled in agreement while writing a note. She called for Jōnetsu and commanded "Bring them to me." and her personal ANBU bowed and vanished with a shunshin.

"Anything else to know from Naruto's intelligence gathering" Jiraiya nodded and pulled out a second sheet. The man had to admit that merging internal security with external intelligence made for a much better picture and forestalled issues that arise from the right hand not knowing what the left was doing. "Iachima Mizuki was a teacher at the Academy and his capture by Iruka for sabotaging Naruto-kun's education is what lead to uncovering the invasion plot." Jiraiya said.

After a nod to show she was up to speed on the details, he continued, "Well it turns out that Anko was not the only survivor of Orochi-teme's early work with the curse seals. He gave Mizuki something he called the animal cursed seal." Tsunade raised her eyebrow again in that, oh so sexy way and asked, "I read the report on his interrogation and execution and didn't see anything about that. What does the seal do?"

Jiraiya chuckled and replied, "Nothing" only to have Tsunade give him a deadpan stare. He went on, adding that to one of the many looks she had that turned him on. "The seal is just an ingredient and recipe for a potion. The potion is dangerous though because it transforms the drinker into a part man, part beast version of themselves with increased strength and power." Tsunade nodded. The medical nin in her could recognize how the early seal and the formula was the beginning of experimentation that lead to the curse of heaven seal.

"Well it turns out the Mizuki had a girlfriend named Kaya Tsubaki. She graduated from the ninja academy but flunked her Genin test twice before quitting from the auxiliary forces. Turns out she was also a spy for Orochimaru and ran when we sent someone to detain her. An Eternal Chunin saw her get over the East Wall and she left an explosion tag that covered her escape." Jiraiya concluded. Tsunade asked "Is the Eternal OK." And after getting a positive nod, wrote another note for Team 7 who she intended to send to capture her. Recovering a failed Genin deserter was exactly the type of mission the team had been put together for.


	39. Illogically Logical

**Authors Note:**

I have reached the point where I have to face the fact that the world of Naruto makes no sense population wise. Accepting this fact means my mind will not be able to move forward until I rationalize the irrational and illogically try to bring Logic to the Illogical.

To do this I will be using a combination of google sources, especially Narutopedia. However, I will be using them as a Bible and not an Encyclopedia.

Lastly, I love math. So this chapter will have a lot of math in it. If you are bored by math, skip to the end for the final numbers. If you don't care at all, **SKIP TO THE NEXT CHAPTER** , no plot points will be included in this chapter besides the explanations for population.

 **Supplementary Note:**

Just because I love math doesn't mean I am good at it. If you see errors, don't at me with flames, just send me corrections and I will appreciate them and add your handle to the bottom as a reference.

Here we go…

First fact that we are accepting as true form the googles is that the population of Konohagakure is 80,000 people. An extension of that is that I will be taking that as a net running population that accounts for birthrates, death rates (higher due to the ninja thing) and all other population influencing factors that I can but am not willing to calculate.

On Narutopedia, each major hidden village has a population rating out of 5. Konoha's is 5/5. Taking that as a percentage:

 **Hidden Village Population = Population Rating x Konaha Population**

and applying the population factors for each hidden village results in the following full populations:

 **Konoha (5/5): 80,000 people**

 **Iwagakure (4/5): 64,000 people**

 **Kumogakure (3/5): 48,000 people**

 **Kirigakure (2/5): 32,000 people**

 **Sunagakure (2/5): 32,000 people**

Early in the show Kakashi said that 1 out of 3 Genin go on to be ninja. I am going to assume that number is an average for all ninja in the elemental nations. Also, going back to Narutopedia, each major village has a Military Strength Rating. Assuming that a village at full military power would have a 33% ninja participation rate, I applied the military strength as a percentage of the full participation rate:

 **Hidden Village Ninja Population = Strength Rating x Population x Full Participation Rate**

and applying the ninja population factors for each hidden village results in the following full populations:

 **Konoha (3/5): 15,840 Shinobi**

 **Iwagakure (4/5): 16,896 Shinobi**

 **Kumogakure (4/5): 12,672 Shinobi**

 **Kirigakure (2/5): 6,336 Shinobi**

 **Sunagakure (2/5): 4,224 Shinobi**

Now the fun ramps up…

The unified shinobi forces that represented all the ninja villages (and samurai) numbered 80,000. ASSUMING that the above population numbers represent the normal state of the elemental nations and using world WII as guide that and a 1.34% death rate for soldiers (25.5 Million dead vs 1.9 Billion participating), then I tripled it to account for the smaller war space and the type of army devastation described in talking about the 3rd Shinobi War (Ex. Minato Namekaze killing entire opposing armies with his hiraishen) and applying that to the 80,000 gives us a pre-ware unified ally forces population of:

 **80,000 x .0402(80000) = 80,000 x 1.0402 = 83,216 shinobi**

Subtracting the Five Great Villages contributions,

 **83,216-15,840-16,896-12,672-6,336-4,224 = 27,248 Shinobi (and Samurai) from Minor Villages**

Early in my story I said that the number of ninja is 15% of the civilian population. I have no basis for that and didnt like the numbers it produced so I AM REDUCING IT to 8% so applying 8% to the Shinobi numbers tells us the population of the greater nations.

 **Population of Country = Number of Shinobi/.08 + Hidden Villages Populations**

and applying the population factors for each country results in the following full populations:

 **Land of Fire: 118,000 civilians**

 **Land of Earth: 147,200 civilians**

 **Land of Lightning: 110,400 civilians**

 **Land of Water: 47,200 civilians**

 **Land of Wind: 20,800 civilians**

 **Miscellaneous: 258,030 civilians**

 **Note:** Miscellaneous represents the number of civilians scattered around all the countries that are representative of the civilians due to the minor villages to maintain a total shinobi per capita of 8% and ASSUMING that everyone in minor villages attempts to become ninja and they still have a 33% success rate.

Adding all the populations gives us total population of the Elemental Nations of:

 **Total Elemental Nation Population: 1,040,200**

 **Total Civilian Population: 784,200**

 **Total Ninja Village Population: 338,570**

 **Total Ninja Population: 83,216**

Now we need to know how many ANBU Jōnin, Chunin and Genin we have.

 **ANBU**

There are approximately 70,000 members of the United States' Special Operations Command vs a total military population of about 1.4 million. That is 5% and the rate of Shinobi I will expect to become ANBU.

 **# of ANBU = # of Shinobi x .05**

So the number of ANBU per Hidden village (and cumulative of the minor villages) is:

 **Konoha: 792 ANBU**

 **Iwa: 845 ANBU**

 **Kumo: 634 ANBU**

 **Kiri: 317 ANBU**

 **Suna: 211 ANBU**

 **Miscellaneous: 1,362 ANBU**

[]

 **JŌNIN AND CHUNIN**

These two go together because my method of figuring out an accurate way to identify the ratios was to go back to the US military and use the ratio between officers and enlisted, since I view Jōnin as field commanders and most Chunin as NCO's (Sergeants and the like). I had to fudge it a little bit to make the totals match but I am within a percent when I say that officers will be 19% and Enlisted are 80%.

I peeled of 10% for the lowest ranking (Genin) and 5% for the Special Ops (ANBU) which I consider all officers, leaving Jōnin at 14% of the total Shinobi forces and Chunin at 70%.

 **# of Jōnin = # of Shinobi x .14**

So the number of Jōnin per Hidden village (and cumulative of the minor villages) is:

 **Konoha: 2,218 Jōnin**

 **Iwa: 2,365 Jōnin**

 **Kumo: 1,1774 Jōnin**

 **Kiri: 887 Jōnin**

 **Suna: 591 Jōnin**

 **Miscellaneous: 3,815 Jōnin**

Similarly:

 **# of Chunin = # of Shinobi x .70**

So the number of Chunin per Hidden village (and cumulative of the minor villages) is:

 **Konoha: 11,088 Chunin**

 **Iwa: 11,827 Chunin**

 **Kumo: 8,870 Chunin**

 **Kiri: 4,435 Chunin**

 **Suna: 2,957 Chunin**

 **Miscellaneous: 19,074 Chunin**

 **GENIN**

About 13.4% of small towns (less than 100,000 people) are in Primary and Secondary Schools (K-12) at any given moment. I am making the Shinobi Academy the Equivalent of that time. So;

 **Number of Candidates at the Shinobi Academy = .314 x Village Population x Strength Rating**

 **Number of Graduates Each Year = Number of Candidates / 4(Length of Academy)**

 **Number of True Genin Each Year = Number of Graduates x Success Rate(33%)**

Calculating for Each Major Village gives us a yearly Genin Class of:

 **Number of Genin = (.04 x Total Population) x (3/4) x .33 = .0099 = .99%**

Apply that percentage to each village gives us:

 **Genin/Year**

 **Konoha: 531 Genin**

 **Iwa: 566 Genin**

 **Kumo: 425 Genin**

 **Kiri: 212 Genin**

 **Suna: 142 Genin**

 **Miscellaneous: 840 Genin**

I believe that it should take, on average, three years to become a Chunin, so the standing Genin force is three times the per class graduation rate or:

 **Total Genin**

 **Konoha: 1592 Genin**

 **Iwa: 1698 Genin**

 **Kumo: 1274 Genin**

 **Kiri: 637 Genin**

 **Suna: 425 Genin**

 **Miscellaneous: 2738 Genin**

All the numbers are about 10% of the total shinobi poulation which matches (basically) with the ANBU, Jōnin and Chunin figures.

 **MISSIN NIN**

Finally, I had to account for our favorite "enemy of the week", the missing nin. I figured that missing nin would represent a very small number of ninja as loyalty seems pretty secure in the elemental nations so I chose 1%. One percent of every village defects and becomes a missing nin, so:

 **Konoha: 158**

 **Iwa: 169**

 **Kumo: 127**

 **Kiri: 63**

 **Suna: 42**

 **Miscellaneous: 272**

There you go. I know that I am going to have to retcon things in my story though I have ideas how to keep that to a minimum and I will definitely have to retcon parts of the canon more than I already have.

 **RETCONS**

1\. The Rookie 9 only represents one class of Genin with Iruka as their main sensei. The actual school year graduated 50 such classes.

2\. Admittedly, the Biggest Stretch (Huge even), is that the Chunin exams are conducted in two waves a day over four days with the rookie nine exams happening in the last wave. At 50 to 60 Konoha Genin per wave , that is **440** Genin participating, most of which don't make it past the first and second tests.

 **RETCON FAQ**

1, Did Anko teach all 50 classes? No. the other teachers where neutral in the prude vs. pervert cold war.

2\. Why all the attention on one class? Because it has all the clan heirs and the Hokage's adopted grandson.

3\. What about...? DUDE, I don't know. I'll address it if I can when it pops up.

[]

[]

[]

[]

As promised, here are the final tabulations.

[][][][][][[ **Total Population** ][][ **# Shinobi** ][][ **ANBU** ][][ **JŌNIN** ][][ **Chunin** ][][ **Genin** ][][ **MISSING NIN** ][]

 **Konoha:** [_._ ._ **80,000** _._ ._][][ _ **15,840** _ ][][ _ **792** _][][. **2,218** ][][. **11,088** ][][_. **1,592** ][][_._ **158** _._._._][]

[[._ **Iwa:** [_._ ._ **64,000** _._ ._][][ _ **16,896** _. ][][ _ **845** _][][. **2,365** ][][. **11,827** ][][_. **1,698** ][][_._ **169** _._._._][]

[_ **Kumo:** [_._ ._ **48,000** _._ ._][][ _ **12,672** _ ][][ _ **634** _][][. **1,774** ][][. **8,870.** ][][_. **1,274** ][][_._ **127** _._._._][]

[[[ _ **Kiri:** [_._ ._ **32,000** _._ ._][][ _ **6,336** _._][][ _ **317** _][][. **887_.** ][][. **4,435_** ][][_._ **637** ][][_._ ._ **63** _._._._][]

[[_ **Suna:** [_._ ._ **32,000** _._ ._][][ _ **4,224** _._][][ _ **211** _][][. **591_.** ][][. **2,957 _** ][][_. **425.** ][][_._ . **42** _._._._][]

[[]. **Misc.:** [_._ ._ **75,976** _._ ._][][ _ **27,248** _.][][ **1,362** ][][. **3,815** ][][. **19,074** ][][_. **2,738** ][][_._ **272** _._._._][]

[[. **TOTAL:** [._ ._ **338,570_**._ ._][][ _ **83,216** _.][][ . **4,161.** [][ **11,650** ][][. **58,251** ][][_. **8,363** ][][_._ **832** _._._._][]


	40. Nidaime Densetsu no Sannin

**...Bar Hoshi, Konohagakure**

After leaving the Hokage's office, the three determined Jōnin met with each other in the back corner of a bar that was frequented by the Jōnin of Konoha. Shizune had been their before but it was the first trip for the newly promoted Jōnin, and after a proper round of congratulations and free sake, the three settled to plan out how to accomplish their mission. It had not been said directly but the mission was open ended. No one, especially the Hokage, expected to hear in a week that the mission had been accomplished. Still that did not mean they had forever.

They ordered three large bottles of "special" sake that was tradition to order when planning a mission in the bar and then put up a privacy seal. Like the sake, the seal was normal for planning sessions and was ignored by everyone else, it serving to indicate that they should not be bothered more than against any true risk of being overheard. It would be a bold and foolish spy that would try to infiltrate a Jōnin bar for information. Those who knew one or all of the three looked on with fondness at seeing their friends plan their first mission as a Jōnin team. They were also curious as it would have to be a serious mission to require three Jōnin, including Tsunade's apprentice to accomplish.

"Kami", Anko breathed out. She was the most visibly excited by the opportunity they had been given which was odd to the other two, since she had already signed the snake summoning contract. Missing or ignoring their confusion, Anko just started to explain her situation. "When I was the snake bastard's apprentice, he promised me that one day I would replace him. I know now he didn't mean it and would have killed me if I even thought about getting close. It's funny that he inadvertently may have been telling the truth and he was the one that ended up dead to accomplish it." Then Anko giggled and took a swig from one of the Sake bottles.

Iruka put his hand over her in an oddly tender way that contrasted with the clear respect and awe that he had for her and showed clearly in his eyes. Shizune wanted to be part of it, to be looked at by him that way, as much as she wanted the mind blowing sex. She was brought out of her musings by Iruka who declared firmly to his girlfriend, "You are already the next Snake Sannin, by all right and practicality." Shizune nodded in agreement. The woman was the most powerful of the three of them after all and had, like her, been apprenticed to the former holder of the title. But Anko disagreed.

"I get what you are saying, but its more complicated that that." She rebutted. "The Snake Clan Boss Summon, Manda, is just as crazy and sadistic as Orochimaru ever was and I won't be able to call myself the Snake Sannin until I kill him, no matter how legendary it will be to kill Yagura." Shizune was troubled and confused, so asked, "How do you kill a summon? I thought they were immortal. After all, if they take too much damage they just puff away." Anko nodded along in understanding of her assumption but it was Iruka that responded, "Summons are not actually from our world. The summoning realms that holds them are actually their native worlds. No one knows how they breach into our world, but they are only indestructible while they are here."

Shizune understood and looked back to Anko asking, "How will you get to the snake summoning realm to kill Manda?". Anko sighed and responded, "Reverse summoning." Shizune looked to Iruka to see that he had the same question since it was well known that only the boss summon could reverse summon a "signer" to their realm. Anko knew what they were going to say so just answered, "I thought so too, but reverse summoning is about power and even though Manda is the most powerful, he isn't the only one powerful enough to do it."

Shizune leaned forward and whispered, "You have a spy in the Snake Clan." Iruka leaned forward. He had thought the same thing. He was in a relationship with Anko and she had never told him this. "Not exactly" Anko explained. "Manda is insane and the truth is the entire clan is against him, but no one is strong enough to challenge him. They might be able to team up against him but that is against the rules. Rules that are instinctual for them. But they knew I was a signer and heard that I had broken from Orochimaru and I was summoned to see if I could help them defeat Manda. I couldn't at the time, but I think I will be able to soon."

"How do you know that?" Iruka asked. He was not asking out of doubt, he simply wanted to hear her plan. Anko knew this as well and didn't even waste the time to question his intentions. "Orochimaru put one of his seals on Manda and that is the reason he was so much more powerful than the rest of the clan. With his death, Orochimaru's seal dissolved. Manda is still the most powerful, by far, in the Snake Clan, but not by as much and I am, obviously, much more powerful than I was. All I need is a bit of training and preparation and I will be ready."

Her statement was in line with what Shizune wanted to discuss so after a couple of clarifying questions, Shizune presented the plan she had been developing since Tsunade had challenged them to greatness. To Shizune's mind the greatness they were seeking required "deeds and recognition". Killing Yagura was the ultimate deed but she felt they needed to build their way to it. They had the power, but they needed the skill and experience. To that end she had a four point plan.

"First, we need to train. Training is a regular part of our daily lives, but we have a mission and we should tailor or training to meet that goal. We should train separately and together and work out a system that makes sure that we don't have gaps in our combined effectiveness." Shizune put forward. The most obvious was that Shizune would be their Taijutsu master due to the overpowered strength of 100 seal and so it made little sense for the others to dedicate too much time to building that skill. Their direction was set when Iruka stepped into the role of Ninjutsu master and Anko would expand her abilities in stealth, infiltration and interrogation.

"Once we set off, is where we begin step two." Shizune said once that decision had been made. "Reputation and experience. I want us to cut a loud, bloody trail across the elemental nations, killing missing nin. Starting with A-class, then moving to S-class and then a few SS-class before we reach Yagura. By the time we reach Kiri, our names should send shivers through the very lands." Shizune may have seemed unassuming but it was a mistake to forget that she was a kunoichi. A kunoichi that Tsunade of the Sannin chose as her apprentice.

Her two compatriots nodded in agreement to the plan, it was an expansion of the mission they had been given but definitely met the spirit of it and killing missing nin, when possible, was a part of the standard operating procedure for Konoha so it did not require the Hokage's approval. "The third step expands on the first, but will increase the reputation of Konoha along with our own. All the swordsmen of the Hidden Mist are missing nin. I propose we defeat them all and deliver the final five swords to Tsunade. Holding all seven swords ransom will send shockwaves through the hidden villages."

It did not need to be said that the final step was attacking Yagura. Iruka leaned back and hummed in satisfaction. It was a plan worthy of the title they were seeking. "Claiming all seven swords of the hidden mist is more than enough to lead to war" he put forward. Anko answered, "But after we kill Yagura, the village will need time to reconstitute itself. His death won't instantly end the civil war. In fact Konoha holding all seven sword may do more to unify the fractured village than even killing the despot." Both Shizune and Iruka nodded. He had been thinking similarly, as had Shizune, but Anko had clarified the collective thought.

 **…One Month Later**

 **…Gates of Konoha, Konohagakure**

Mitarashi Anko was an even more imposing figure than she had been a month previously. She had not told her lover or friend exactly how she planned to be "ready soon" and if they had known she was sure that, at least, Iruka would have tried to stop her. But even without Orochimaru's seal Manda was an above Kage level threat. Gamabunta had been used to help restrain the Kyuubi for the Yondaime, so it was no exaggeration to say that his equal in the Snake realm was closer in power to a bijuu than a Kage. But in the end she had succeeded. Twice.

 **…Flashback**

It could not be overstated how desperately Mitarashi Anko wanted to exact revenge on her previous sensei. The man had destroyed her completely. He had stolen her innocence, her self-respect, her dignity, her ability to trust and her ability to love. He had left her to carry the burden of his sins within the walls of the village and he had done it all to her before she had reached 14. She was much better at controlling her rage than Uchiha Sasuke could ever dream but her single minded determination to kill that man dwarfed the Uchiha's desire to kill his brother At the younger boy's worst.

Before Naruto had saved her from her own insanity and she had been granted freedom from her demons in the form of watching Orochimaru die, she had kept the location of one lab secret. The action was exactly the type that many had expected of her in their belief that she was just as bad as her master. It was a violation of the faith the Sandaime had put in her when he welcomed her back to the village. And she never once regretted it until the day Naruto had freed her from the seal on her neck. But still she had not disclosed it, refusing to see the disappointment in the Hokage's eyes.

She had not returned to it till this day. Her life was completely different. She had been reborn and yet she still found herself back in the dark underground room. She had returned there for the same reason her sensei had created it. To take for herself one of his secrets. The "potion" that Tsubaki had escaped the village with was the first of twenty versions the dead sannin had created. And she was looking at the twenty first. She had not advertised it, but her sensei had not just taught her to be a shinobi. She was his apprentice and she had been chosen for her potential as a scientist as much as a fighter.

Her experiments had not been as immoral as Orochimaru's but she had been able to perfect the potion. Orochimaru could have done it in a tenth of the time it took her but he had abandoned the project as he moved on in the development of his curse seal. All it required now was the scale from a snake and she had gotten it from Midori, the snake that approached her from the Snake summon realm for help. All Anko had to do was tell the future boss summon that it was time. She raised the foul looking concoction to her lips and swallowed it in one gulp then collapsed bonelessly to the ground.

When Anko woke up, she was not in pain, but she was sore. The location of each change in her body felt like a pulled muscle which was something any ninja was used to. She waited an hour before she trusted herself to move. She planted her feet and literally rolled up to standing position. A human has 33 vertebrae and 24 ribs. Anko now had 400 of the first and 100 of the second. A human leg was made up of a femur, a fibula and a tibia, connected by ligament and a third bone, the patella. Each of Anko's legs maintained the same shape but was split into another 400 segments. A similar change had been made to her arms and even her cervical spine. She had become more flexible than even Orochimaru had been.

In addition, her pupils had become elliptical like a snakes and her tongue hand quadrupled in size along with gaining a vomeronasal organ that allowed her to "taste" the air. She had a set of retractable claws on her fingers that were hollow like a snake's fangs and connect to a poison sac in her forearms and a microscopic look at her skin would show it to be skin colored scales that acted like an armor.. Little had changed to her outward appearance, she was the same height and weight but she now had speed and flexibility to add to her power. She was ready to face Manda.

 **…End Flashback**

She had prepared herself and gotten use to her new body and ability for a week before summoning Medori again. The female snake was a third the size of Manda and was the snake most likely to become the boss summon if Manda was killed. She should have asked for more details.

Anko had exaggerated when she said that the entire Snake clan was against Manda. He, in fact, had a small group of followers that were equally as insane as their leader. Midori was fully confident that she could defeat them all, individually or as a group. She would have to live up to her boast because the rule about one on one fights only held for leadership of the clan.

Anko's battle with Manda had been grand, but less than the snake mistress of Konoha had expected. She was sure she could have taken the large snake at its best, but years with Orochimaru's power and sadistic madness had dulled the cunning of the creature most known for it. It was Anko who used cunning and guile along with power and skill, leading the overlarge snake into traps among trees he could not fit through, and borrows she had mined with explosive tags.

She was a master of her new form, which made her use of the snake style taijutsu many times more deadly, her poison came from Midori which was even more potent than the larger Manda because of Midori's gender. Mostly she used the jutsu she had learned from Orochimaru. She had once sworn to never use his teachings but had broken her promise to herself from the moment she returned to his lab.

In the end, the battle had been fierce and difficult, but she had succeeded and killed it. She had not been the one to fight Orochimaru and so used the fight with his "pet snake" to release her anger, hurt, and need for revenge. It was very cathartic for her. In fact, thinking about the fight and her training she felt As if she had finally completed his training and was now a master herself. The killing blow to the snake was a kunai that pierced through the eye of a slow moving Manda, lodged in his brain and then exploded.

With the death of Manda and the rise of Midori had come a surprise. Since it was her that killed the giant snake, the entire clan considered her its master. Midori would be boss summon but it was Anko that was considered the true head of the Snake Summon Clan. Unlike most other summoners, she would never have to bargain with the higher level summons to aid her.

She wasn't displeased but it reminded her that with snakes, there was always fine print. Still she trusted Midori because it took a lot for her to swallow her pride and ambition in the name of saving her clan from Manda. The situation also offered a convenient excuse for her changed physique that would be "evidence" of her "bonding" with the Snake Clan.

Anko continued to muse on what she had accomplished in her month of training. She still had a little less than three weeks after defeating Manda and she spent that time in her realm learning all the snake style taijutsu and ninjutsu that Orochimaru had not taught her. By the end of the month she was as strong as Orochimaru had been when he died. Unnoticed by her was the attention she was drawing to herself because of her new "armor".

Konoha's free attitude toward sexual expression meant that the "sexiness" of her knew shinobi wear caused no surprise and just appreciation, but the style was something the gawkers had never seen before and also confirmed the rumor that she had, somehow, bonded with the Snake Summoning Clan.

She wore chaps that hugged her thighs and much of her calf before gradually flaring so she could fit a pair of seven inch heeled boots with the now infamous chakra metal, spiked heels of the Hadakashi. The chaps belted just above her hips and framed a small pair of low waisted, high cut booty shorts that hugged her bare mound and showed clearly the indentation of a newly added piercing through the hood of her clit. The back cut right across her firm round ass and was sexier to many than if she had been completely exposed

Her top was similarly armored and similarly minimal. She wore a sleeveless vest that fell only a few inches below her full breasts and was too small to close around them. It hung in a way that covered her perky globes but any movement more vigorous than a leisurely walk would expose them for public adoration. Her C-cup breasts were as gravity defying as Kakashi's hair and she had pierced her nipples to match the decoration to her pussy, so the adoration was high. On her head she wore a stampede style cowgirl hat with her Hitai-ate across the front of the crown.

Her entire outfit from hat to vest to boots was made from the dark purple and black skin of Manda and was the actual symbol of her elevated position within the clan. Every snake, whether from the summoning realm or not would be able to "taste'' the former boss in the supple material and know it meant that she was master of the snake clan. The cut however, was all Anko and a reflection of her commitment to all things perverse and lust inducing.

 **…Gates of Konoha, Konohagakure**

Umino Iruka strolled up the main street of Konoha towards the gate to meet his two partners. He saw his first girlfriend waiting and he smiled to himself at his lovely snake mistress. She had told him what she had done and he had been upset at the risk she had taken. Considering the risk he had taken he had little room to complain and besides her new ability to ride his cock and suck his balls at the same time all but demanded forgiveness.

The risk he had taken had probably been more dangerous since, unlike Anko, what he had done had been completely experimental. It had worked and his presence on the road was attracting the same awe filled looks as Anko had received. Probably moreso as he had not had the reputation she had and his new power and appearance was startling to say the least. Iruka had always had a fascination with chakra natures and especially combination nature's. He theorized that while those born with the gift could use them easily, anyone should be able to combine nature's in the same way. It should only be a step beyond mastery of multiple natures. Something that many people, like Hiruzen Serutobi, had accomplished.

Most people had a primary and secondary chakra affinity. But in clans with combination nature blood line limits, they had two primary affinities that combined to form their ability. The Boil release which combined fire and water affinities and the ice release which combined wind and water affinities, were two. Iruka wanted Storm release, a kekkei genkai he had seen used in the Third Shinobi World War by a ninja from Kumo. Something about the instant torrent of light and power spoke to the core of who he was.

His primary affinity was lightning and his secondary affinity was wind which together formed a magnet release kekkai genkai which could be very devastating, but was not what spoke to him. As the ninjutsu teacher of the Academy, he could use all five natures but as part of his helping Naruto he had mastered his primary and secondary affinities, gaining mastery of wind release as part of helping Naruto do the same. Mastery of water was the next logical step since accomplishing his "impossible" dream would require it. And he had set out to do it, not believing he would ever achieve his dream.

The difficulty of mastering a chakra nature that was not your primary or secondary affinity could not be overstated and Iruka had ended up with it as the exclusive focus of his training for longer than most would consider healthy. In the end, it took spending time under influence of Jaraiya's hentaishindo sage mode with Anko to get him over the hump, but he had accomplished it shortly after the Chunin exams and the failed invasion. The accomplishment and the release of the Heaven Seal to all ninja ignited a determination to figure out how to combine his lightning and water mastery into Storm Release. He believed the key was chakra and focus.

Any master of multiple natures could use both of them in battle and with speed and timing could mimic a combination nature release but it would be week and be an obvious mimicry, especially if put next to someone with the actual ability. Irukla believed using two natures simultaneously to properly imitate the kekkei genkai required a focus equivalent to being able to do five things at the same time and enough chakra to power each contributing jujitsu separately and simultaneously. It was something that not even the three "gods of shinobi" had accomplished.

But they did not have a seal that tripled their chakra reserves. Iruka had already successfully combined lightning and water to create a true storm release when he was called to Tsunade's office but it was equivalent to what he would consider the efforts of a clan member at the very beginning of training and he could only do it in lab conditions and not in battle. He had planned to spend his month of training to accomplish gaining useful control of his bastardized storm release. Then he did something stupid.

 **...Flashback**

Iruka was meditating. He had lightning chakra running up his left arm and a gallon of water circling his left. He had invented the control exercise as a first step in being able to use storm release and felt confident that he could control both at the the same time to create the attacks he had hoped to. Since storm release was a kekkei genkai, no scrolls existed in the "public" domain for him to learn the associated techniques, but he intended to convince his teammates to make a stop in kumo. He figured the hidden village owed them as they had never faced any consequences for their attempts to steal Hinata or Kushina before her.

His control was good but not perfect. If he had techniques to learn he would have felt confident trying to learn them but until he had some he would continue to refine his control. Then he had an idea. He also had mastered his secondary wind affinity. "Controlling all three simultaneously will definitely increase my control of just two" he thought. What he didn't know was that as he focused to maintain the manifestation of the lightning release and water release, the Heaven seal was working to refine it in a similar way that it did to Tsunade's strength of 100 technique. Lightning and water chakra was suffusing the air around him as it flowed in and out of him. An unseen "storm" of of natured chakra surrounded him.

It was kept separated with lightning natured purified chakra to his left and water natured purified chakra to his right. Then he brought his hand together and tried to form a small swirl of wind chakra. The level of concentration and control was immense as was the draw on his chakra and his closed eyes twitched as he struggled to sink deeper into his meditation. If he was paying attention, he would have seen that he was glowing in a way similar to Jaraiya's sage mode except his glow was a lightning colored mix of yellow and white with a nimbus of a cloud developing and swirling around his body. His last thought before it happened was a self-satisfaction as he balanced a third chakra nature's in his hand.

Then he lost control. Except the chakra didnt dissipate. instead it blazed around him flowing in and out of his seal, and mixing. His eyes snapped open glowing white and sparks of lightning arced across his body while an invisible wind buffeted his hair and water droplets hovered in mid air around his body. The pain was intense but he was able to manage it and think, if not clearly. He knew that he was in the middle of wild chakra and that wild chakra was a thing, but he also knew that what was happening to him had never been recorded. He had produced it so he tried to control it and after an hour of pain and concentration the chakra dissipated. Then he collapsed.

When he awoke Iruka had been bedraggled. And he felt it. As a ninjutsu teacher, understanding chakra and chakra flows was one of his specialties. He was also a sensor as that was his secret to always finding Naruto in the days when the blonde pranked people to get attention. So he felt the change in him. He could also see it when he reached a mirror. He had gained enough control of his chakra to free him from the mailstrum but his eyes were still glowing, lightning was still running up and down his body and his hair was dancing in an unseen wind.

He prepared himself for another struggle and tried to pull his chakra fully back into him and stumbled. It was like pulling against a door you expected to be closed and it wasn't. His control of the chakra was almost instinctual. With a thought he called it back up and noticed that it was not just lightning and wind, but also water. There was no doubt in his mind that he had done it. He had conquered combination natures without having a kekkei genkai and more than that he had gotten more than just the storm release since he had combined three natures and not just two. He named it Thunder Release

 **...Flashback End**

Like Anko, he had spent the remaining weeks getting used to his new power. He was able to figure out a few storm release jutsu that were enhanced by the addition of the wind release. But to truly be able to use it, he needed the storm release technique scrolls. Generations of development and understand were in those scrolls and it would take him forever to bring his knowledge up to that level through experimentation and normal jutsu development. That was not to say his existing jutsu repertoire wasn't impressive. Every water, lightning and wind jutsu was enhanced by his new ability.

Combining a few of them was how he discovered the few Thunder Release Techniques he had. Most joyously he had discovered the attack he had seen back in the war, Storm Style: Laser Circus, which he had enhanced to Thunder Style: Plasma Bombardment. A devastating attack that shot from his hands in an expanding wave of connected plasma bolts. At reduced power, he had felled six trees in the forbidden forest. As angry as he had been at Anko for what she had done recklessly, she had returned equally. He argued that he had simply had an accident and she argued that what she had done was based on proven science, immorally proven, but still proven. The sex at the end of the argument had been wild and unrestrained.

Like Anko, he had changed his style to match his new power. Black ANBU style pants made with chakra metal wire woven into the material, shin guards and leg wrappings down to his ankle with metal Geta sandals, in honor of the man he hoped to replace. His top was also lined with chakra metal. It cut from his left shoulder to his right hip leaving the entirety of the right side of his chest and stomach exposed. A chest and stomach stacked with corded muscles that seemed to be chiseled out of granite. Diagonally across his body opposite the line of his top from right shoulder to his hip beneath his top was a leather strap with his Konoha Hitai-ate positioned in the center of it.

On his head he wore a large conical straw hat that protected his face from the sun and with a slight dip would hide his eyes. He reached Anko and drew her into a passionate kiss that knocked their hats off the hang at their backs by chords. And waited for their last member and newest lover. Shizune had joined them for their last night in Konoha for a while. The sex was magnificent and both Shizune and Anko had been surprised at how pleasurable a small amout of lightning chakra could be to a sexual coupling. Before they seperated to gather their things for the trip Shizune had frankly told the other two that not only did she want sex to be a regular thing between them but that she intended to eventually join their relationship "I will seduce the both of you. That's a promise." had left them both surprised and intrigued.

 **…Gates of Konoha, Konohagakure**

Kato Shizune had not done anything stupid in her one month of training. Her strength of 100 seal had come in on her forehead as it had with Tsunade, but it had been expected and the result of a controlled apprenticeship to Tsunade. She had mastered it completely and even though the month of training had been her idea, she did not really need it. But she wanted it. She wanted it because she wanted the time to master one jutsu. Master it so completely that she could perform it without hand seals. Her first trip on the first day of their training she had gone to the Uchiha Compound, knowing that if anyone would have the jutsu she wanted, it would be them in their massive library of copied techniques.

 **...Flashback**

The new Uchiha clan had only three people in it. One natural born Uchiha and two women who had gained not only the clan name but the famed dojutsu when Uchiha Sasuke had impregnated them at the same time he was flaring his chakra. He had done that because his mistress told him to, because Uchiha Sasuke was a submissive bondage slave to his former therapist and the daughter of Naruto's favorite ramen chef. His bondage was completely voluntary and had cured him of the growing madness within him that was driving him to seek out his brother at all costs. He hoped to one day introduce his brother to the peace that came with submission.

The new head of the Uchiha clan was Uchiha Rena. She had been born to a refugee from a matriarchal village that viewed men as second class and untrustworthy of responsibility. They had taken that belief to a murderous extreme, but Rena's mother had not abandoned her basic beliefs even as she abandoned her village and Rena had been raised to believe the same. Fortunately, Rerna's view on men was exactly what the last Uchiha needed and so he gladly married her and turned over his clan to the woman. And he had never been more content.

Uchiha Rena, clan head, was already re-writing the clan rules. No natural born male Uchiha would ever lead the clan again. Instead it would be the girls who were raised to leadership. She also ended the practice of incest, believing in the power of new blood, so all male children would be married off to women from outside the clan, approved by the matriarchial council, in exchange for the dojutsu and headship of her home. No one would notice, but the madness that was as famous as the eyes of the Uchiha clan would vanish quietly into history.

Shizune presented herself before Rena. As Tsunade's closest aid and student, she knew of the coup the woman in front of her had carried out against the Uchiha clan. She also knew that Tsunade didn't like the aggressive stance the woman took against men but it was not that dissimilar to how many patriarchal families treated the girls and the Hokage had been made confident in the woman's loyalty to Konoha. "How can I help you Shizune-san." the woman asked pleasantly. Shizune always found being in this woman's presence off-putting. The woman was delightful, even to men outside her new clan, but Shizune knew how she treated Sasuke and the contrast confused her.

"Rena-sama, I am here to request the purchase of a jutsu." Rena's eyes lit up. One of the reasons Tsunade trusted her with the Uchiha clan was because she was willing to share, for a fee, the many jutsu that the Uchiha had gathered. Something that had never been permitted by the prideful hoarders in the past. Tsunade had no doubt that the jutsu library of Konoha would be the greatest of all the elemental nations with the Uchiha willing to provide copies to the village.

"Really, what type of jutsu are you looking for, sweetheart." Rena said kindly. She was not older than Anko which meant she was not much older than Shizune, but she gave off a matronly energy that was easy to succumb to. "I would like to be able to fly." Shizune answered with excitement. Rena's eyes widened. The Uchiha library did have a section on flight jutsu, but it was not a field that many were interested in. Rena didn't have the interest herself, but she could clearly see the excitement in her guest and allowed it to excite her as well.

"Well, lets go see if we have anything that suits you." Rena said then rose and led Shizune to the Uchiha library, a place that was once considered sacrosanct to the Uchiha. It was an impressive space, Shizune admitted as she was lead to an alcove. The limited amount of scrolls in the ares was a testament to how little the elemental valued flight. "Almost every form of flight involves some form of chakra wings", the oddly knowledgeable Uchiha head said but noticed the look on Shizune's face and saw that she did not want wings.

"There is only one that doesn't require wings but it does require a mastery of Earth Release, which I think you have. Isnt that right dear" Rena said with a truly joyful smile at having something for the woman before her. Mastering Tsunade's jutsu required a mastery of the earth nature and it had been made easier for Shizun as it was her primary affinity. She said as much to the woman who made her feel welcome and then asked how much. The price was high, but fair, showing that the woman was not being frivolous with the Uchiha treasures and Shizune happily paid the price and left with the jutsu.

 **...End Flashback**

It was called Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique and it was a manipulation of gravity that allowed someone to fly. The downside of the flight was that it weakened the force of any physical attack. After mastering the jutsu Shizune was able to determine that hitting someone while in flight decreased the power of her hit by 30%, which was a lot but acceptable considering that with Tsunade's training and naruto's seal she was easily one of the strongest people in the elemental nations and even at 30% less power, her punches would be devastating.

Evidence of that was the shallow crater she caused when she landed next to Anko and Iruka. She was the smallest of the three, standing 5 feet tall against Anko's 5 foot 7 inches and Iruka's even 6 feet. The oddness of her arrival and who she was sent a bit of shock through the small crowd that had gathered to see the newest Jōnin team when she jumped into Iruka's arms like an excited fangirl. With her legs wrapped around iruka and her sexy body pressed to his she leaned over and kissed Anko deeply, something that caused horny groans from many.

Shizune's uniform had not disappointed against the sexy outfits of her partners. She wore black thigh high boots that hugged her legs perfectly and sported the Hadaskiko gold spiked heel. Her legs were easily visible because the ankle length skirt she wore was two pieces (front and back ) held together by a gold chakra metal chain that sat on her hip. Even standing still her entire legs were on display as was the very tiny g-string panties she wore beneath it. Like her compatriots she didn't were the mesh body stocking since her skin was tougher than it and offered more protection.

The wide expanse of her muscled stomach and abs were on display before a skin tight cropped halter top covered her Perky B-cup breasts. The tightness and thinness of the material made it as if she wore no top at all as her perpetually hard nipples pressed through the material. On her arms she wore long fingerless gloves that stopped at her bicep and she had let her purple hair grow out and had it held back by her Hitai-ate.

The group signed themselves out of the village with the Eternals and made their way on to the path leading away from the village, Anko and Iruka walking and Shizune floating behind them. As soon as they reached the tree line, they jumped into the branches and started moving at shinobi speed, Shizune flying along next to them. All three easily dodging branches while discussing their month of training and where they would go to find their first missing nin.

 **...Three Weeks After leaving Konoha**

 **...Somewhere in Hi No Kuni**

There are two types of shinobi in the elemental nations. The classical shinobi operated silently in the shadows and the "noisy" shinobi who was known far and wide and had their names in the bingo books. Most missions for Daimyo's are done by the first type and involve the historical tasks of shinobi including infiltration, intelligence and sabotage. Because of the nature of the work, silent shinobi could also be noisy ones though they risked much more if caught as there would be no question about their origins or mission.

The noisy type of shinobi are meant to draw attention to themselves and the villages they represent. Their strength and reputation reflect directly on the strength and reputation of the hidden village that they are from. Interestingly enough, a Daimyo's faith in a ninja village's ability in stealth and infiltration is oddly dependent on the reputation of the noisy shinobi and how "amazing" their known skills are.

Famous shinobi like the Five Puppet Masters of the Hidden Sand, the Legendary Three Ninja of the Leaf and the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist represent the pinnacle of the later category and rarely operate silently. They conduct missions, including normally stealthy ones like assassinations but their primary purpose is to project the strength of their hidden village. That is one of the reasons that even as missing nin, or nin on sabbatical, villages might not send hunter nin after them because even as betrayers, they represent the power that the village can produce.

All of this is what made Shizune's plan so audacious. To claim the seven swords of the Swordsmen of the Mist was an open declaration of superiority and could seriously lead to war, even if the swords were returned. It represented the type of slap to the face that one of the "major" villages could not allow. Especially as they might no longer be viewed as a major hidden village. Shizune, Iruka and Anko were counting on the fact that they would end the civil war and that the civil war had already fractured mist's image across the nations would prevent war. But they also had no fear of war based on the power they believed Konoha now wielded.

Tsugaru Akiari was a missing nin from Kirigakure. His status as an S-class missing nin would be surprising to some since his hate of blood line users was at least equal to the Mizukage, Yagura. His lone regret about scratching out his headband and leaving the village was that he would no longer be able to massacre blood line families. He had only ended the lineage of 6 such lines before he was forced to leave.

The reason he was a missing nin was because Yagura had betrayed him with the same casual ease as the man had used when deciding to eliminate the menace that was bloodline users. Akiari was still surprised by the betrayal and could not fathom the purpose. He often wondered if his Mizukage thought he was a hidden bloodline user because of his strength, a notion that appalled and disgusted him. His power was his own. Earned with effort and dedication and not as an unnatural gift from his parents, likely stolen by some long forgotten sick ritual.

He was also a member of the seven ninja swordsmen of the midst. He had been a Kiri ANBU sent to reclaim the sword after the reported death of Jinin Akebino, the previous holder of the Kabutowari. He had claimed the sword for himself and when he returned to Kiri had killed seven challengers for it in a single day. As far as he was concerned, that was all it took for him to claim his spot as a member. He had held the position for years until Yagura called him to his office and announced that he had chosen someone else to wield it. He had no intention of turning it over but Yagura had ignored the defiance he was showing and added more insult to his demand, ordering Akiari to turn over the weapon in the village square.

Akiari had played along but at the appointed moment had struck the "pretender" down killing him, before fighting his way through his former ANBU colleagues and escaping the village. The last thing he had seen that day was Yagura, who had done nothing to stop him, only staring at him with a smirk on his face. The smirk confused him and he had felt true sorrow at the deaths of his ANBU colleagues. He considered them true ninja. Men and women who had earned their skills and abilities through hard work. As a missing nin he had killed a few shinobi with bloodline limits, and he dedicated each victory to those lost souls.

He turned a bend and his eyebrows rose at the sight before him. On the road ahead of him were three people. Two kunoichi and one Shinobi from Konoha if their head bands were to be believed. He had, of course, heard of the growing reputation of the leaf village but had put it aside as propaganda. Konohagakure and Kumogakure where the two major villages most known for harboring Bloodline clans and to Akiari that meant laziness and overinflated egos. However, they were less than 30 yards away from him and he had not had any inkling of their presence, something that had not happened to him since he was in the academy.

That and the fact that the three shinobi didn't look in any way surprised or concerned by his presence told him that even if they were accursed kekkei genkai users, that was no reason to not take the threat they represented seriously. He looked closer at them and could only recognize one. Mitarashi Anko was relatively well known as the former apprentice of, the now dead, Orochimaru of the Sannin. But last, he had heard of her, she was a Tokubetsu Jōnin. It had been a while but even if she had been promoted to Jōnin, it was odd to see her there to challenge him.

The other kunoichi was familiar to him but he could not place it and the lone shinobi was someone he had never seen before. They were too old to be Genin and would be missing one based on how Konoha coddled their young ninja. Perhaps they were all Tokubetsu Jōnin and killing him was some sort of promotion mission. He liked that idea and would return their heads to Konoha as a warning to use someone else for their promotion tests. Then he saw electricity run up the body of the Shinobi and he sneered, concluding the man was a bloodline user. He decided to keep that head for himself.

Shinobi were not samurai, so there was no grand speech or introductions. The stance of the three ninja and the drawing of the Kabutowari was all the communication that was needed. The missing nin decided to kill the abomination first and feeling the directed killing intent the two kunoichi looked at their third before jumping to settled in the trees and watch. The move surprised Akiari. It was very samurai thing to do. The notion of fighting "with honor" was ridiculous to the shinobi world and Akiari decided to be a bit cautious in case the unknown man was more skilled than he knew.

 **Tsugaru Akiari vs Umino Iruka**

Akiari began by twisting his body in a movement that looked like he was swinging the hammer end of his "sword" but was actually meant to hide his hands speeding through seals. He spun and slammed his hammer on the hard packed dirt road and created a fisher that ran toward his newest enemy. At the same time, he completed his jutsu speaking Wind Style: Beast Wave Palm. It was a starting move he had used before. No one expected a Mist nin to know a wind jutsu. He was proud of it but knew it was only low Jōnin in strength which was a bit embarrassing for a S-class shinobi but along with the fisher caused by his hammer was a usually effective one, two punch.

Instead of moving out of the way, Iruka showed that he two had a passing familiarity with jutsu outside his primary affinity and said Earth Style: Mud Wave Jutsu and stomped his feet to the ground, a wave of earth rose up to meet the approaching fissure and in an illogical result split the fissure to run to either side of the electric nin. After stomping his feet, he reached up "caught" the beast wave and spun with it in a wushu taijutsu, completing the spin while also completing his hand seals and saying Thunder Style: Plasma Bombardment.

Akiari jumped away form the column of power rushing toward him noticing a few things, all of which was deeply troubling. The first was that the beam had cut a groove in the road even though he knew the power hadn't touched it directly, meaning that the beam had an unseen pressure wave of destruction around it. Secondly was that he had seen the hand seals and recognized enough of them and their order to believe he knew the kekkei genkai he was facing. He had no idea how Konoha had gotten their hands on a Kiri Bloodline but that didn't matter when the man called out Thunder Style, which he had never heard of and unleashed a devastation much greater than the Storm Release: Laser Circus he had expected.

His final and most pressing concern was that for the Kiri nin with that Kekkei Genkai, the Laser Circus was a finishing move that took a great deal of chakra. His opponent had used it first and seemed unaffected by the chakra draw. Still, he was not an S-class missing nin by accident and he also had massive chakra reserves. "if this guy wants to play power tennis, I'll show him." His first attack had not been just to test his opponent, it had prepared the field for his next attack. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet" Akiari yelled, the calmness he had intended to project with soft spoken attacks gone.

The fissure had opened a line to the water table below. He knew as a shinobi from a village with water jutsu, many people tried to set up battles with them away from water sources, but they underestimated the power of the hidden mist as well how available water truly was. From the fissure rose a fountain of water shaped like a dragon and attacked with is maw open. The dragon crashed over Iruka's head but before the missing nin could smirk a bolt of lighting tore through the head of the still formed water dragon dispersing it and leaving it intended victim standing with one finger in the air, lightning running all around his body and his eyes glowing.

In a flash lightning was flying toward Akiari and he only managed to get the hammer head up just in time to catch the bolt that pushed he back a dozen feet. He winced at the tingling in his hand. The hammer head had deflected the attack but he had still been shocked through the handle. Deciding that he was facing a long range jutsu user and decided to use his sword the way it was meant to be, and flash stepped to Iruka. It was a samurai move that he had learned a few years ago and most ninja were unprepared for it effectiveness since they held so little respect for samurai.

It worked and Iruka was forced, for the first time to move off of his spot, but not before the blade of the Kabutowari grazed his bare chest. Akiari had been aiming for that spot since the man was stupidly wearing no protection for the exposed part of his body but he was again disappointed when the skin of the other man's chest was only bruised and not torn. His blade had cut through earth release users using all types of hard skin techniques and he had no clue why his sword didn't pierce the skin. He had little time to contemplate it before Iruka drew a "legendary" sword of his own. The Raijin Ken had been an obvious gift to give to Iruka when Tsunade learned of his new abilities. Who better to have a thunder sword than someone who had a thunder release?

Akiari was not surprised when he saw the weapon. Irritated but not surprised. But at the same time his confidence rose. It was no accident he held one of the seven swords of the midst. He was a master at kenjutsu and a master of using his weapon. The man in front of him could use his sword but was clearly no master. So he was surprised when the improper form the man was using, easily blocked the strike he made with his hammer and was able to twist and block the second swipe from the ax head. His shock was his mistake as he didnt see the man run through one handed seals. He didn't notice until he was forced to brace against "Lightning Release: Thunder"

He flew back and his back impacted a tree with a great crash. He would have been pleased to know that a similar sudden stop had broken the back of Kisame but is back had not broken. But that did not matter because before he could get his wits to him, a lightning sword detached his head. "Well done" Anko said when she landed next Iruka. "Though he did get a swipe at your chest." Shizune teased. "I thought you might like a scar there." he responded only to get playfully bonked on the head by Anko. They collected the head and the sword before burning the body, then they started walking down the road.

 **Umino Iruka Wins...Fatality**

Tsugaru Akiari was the first S-class missing nin that the treo had faced. They had each already killed 6 A-class missing nin and had moved to tracking down higher level targets. It was only happenstance that the closest missing nin had also been a wielder of one of the swords of the mist. They had gotten the information from one Jaraiya's intelligence stations also known as Shrines to the Lust God. The shrines had become the centerpiece to an intelligence network that was quickly becoming embedded everywhere, even within competing hidden villages.

It would have been surprising to people living in neighboring universes that an organization founded by a high ranking shinobi of a hidden village would be so trusted all across the elemental nations. They would find no sensible answer. The closest would be that for many people the Hadakashi were considered separate from the Hadashiko. The Hadakashi were the shrine maidens of the shinobi side of the Hentaishindo while the Hadashiko were considered simply civilians. To encourage this belief the main shrine for the Hadashiko was moved to the capitol of Fire Country even though the high priestess remained in Konoha.. Most in the neighboring universe would wonder what obvious intelligence headquarters was being ignored in Konoha.


End file.
